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European
Online Brokers Are Still Innovating Despite Market Downturn
Leaders in Each Country Add New Products and Services According
to BlueSky Ratings
Paris, 15th February 2001 - Even though new account growth
for major Internet brokers in Europe slowed from an average
of 200% in the first half of 2000 to an average of 30% in
the second half, just-released research from BlueSky International
shows that leading brokers in each country continued to innovate
in the last quarter of 2000 with new products, research and
interactive services in order to increase profitability and
try to entice more investors online. According to the January
2001 edition of the BlueSky Ratings, BlueSky's quarterly rating
of online brokers in eight European countries, the top brokers
added products like index tracker funds, life insurance and
loans, along with more advanced research and online video
services.
Despite the relatively tough times, we were pleasantly surprised
by examples of innovation throughout Europe as we researched
over 700 online brokers in eight countries," said Suzan
Nolan, president and lead marketing analyst for BlueSky International."For
instance, the BlueSky Number One rated broker in Europe for
January 2001, Comdirect Germany, has added an easy-to-use
tool that lets all customers access parent-company Commerzbank
research that's usually reserved for institutional clients.
Comdirect also created a new video-chat service to let market
experts share their thinking in an interactive way with private
investors. In each country, the Number One brokers are working
hard to increase their "share of wallet" for existing
customers and to try to seduce new ones, in very competitive
markets.
BlueSky International tracks the growth and changes in the
online brokerage market from the consumers point of view
on a quarterly basis, conducting independent research on over
700 sites in the UK, France, Germany, Switzerland, Spain,
Italy, Belgium and Holland plus the best of the US sites for
European investors. The BlueSky research teams examine more
than 500 features and functions on leading sites, including
the products offered, ease of navigation, user friendliness
and customer service in order to rate the quality of the user's
experience. The list of the Top 7 online brokers in each country
are published as the BlueSky Ratings for free, public use,
and permit a direct cross-border comparison of the services
and features offered by the best online brokers in Europe.
"While 1999 and 2000 were generally terrific growth periods
for online brokers, the name of the game in 2001 will be to
get the other 80%", observed Suzan Nolan. "The challenge
for online brokers will be to get the other 80% of the investable
assets their existing customers have that may be in competitors'
accounts or not yet invested online, and to get the other
80% of the investors who are not yet investing online."
Nolan added, "Some of the ways to compete can be seen
in the way that Self Trade France has added index tracker
funds and life insurance to broaden its product mix. Or the
way site navigation and customer service is being improved
like the giants, UBS, Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank's Brokerage
24 have done. Or by adding more interactive features like
video interviews and financial TV like Alex in the Netherlands,
who broke into the European Top 15 for the first time. The
list of the BlueSky Ratings Top 15 European Online Brokers
for January 2001 can be found below."
The complete BlueSky Ratings" for January 2001 can be found
in the Brokers section of the www.EuropeanInvestor.com
web site, and on the www.tradeineuros.com
site. The BlueSky Ratings cover the top seven online brokers
in eight European countries, plus the best US brokers for
European residents. Eight key decision points are compared
for each, such as the number of international markets traded,
IPO and mutual fund offerings, trading languages and residency
requirements. The cost of commissions is also compared, but
does not count in the ratings. An explanation of the methodology
and criteria used for the ratings can be found on www.blueskyinc.com.
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The BlueSky Ratings™ cover the top seven online brokers in
nine European countries: Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland,
Italy, Netherlands , Spain, Switzerland and UK, plus the best
US brokers for European residents. Eight key decision points
are compared for each, such as the number of markets traded,
the languages offered and the IPO and mutual fund offerings.
There is also an easy link that enables the user to ask for
more information. The BlueSky Ratings can be found in the
"Brokers" section of the www.EuropeanInvestor.com
site and on the www.TradeinEuros.com
site. An explanation of the methodology and criteria used
for the ratings can be found on http://blueskyinc.com/methodology.html
.
For more information about
BlueSky International and BlueSky Ratings, please contact:
Louis Beech
BlueSky International Marketing
louis@blueskyinc.com
Tel : +33 1 53 59 39 47
www.blueskyinc.com
About BlueSky International Marketing, Inc.
BlueSky International Marketing Inc., is the leader in providing
accurate facts and insight about the international Internet
to financial services companies world-wide since 1997. BlueSky's
original research and analysis identifies competitive opportunities,
provides industry benchmarks, anticipates key trends and compares
market direction on the Internet across multiple countries
in Europe, North America, Asia-Pacific and Latin America.
BlueSky Ratings™ is the first independent, cross- border Internet
rating service that helps people find the deal and service
that's best for them.
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