Discount brokerage industry still struggling because of record low interest rates and trading volumes

Posted by James Peterson

Date : 02/03/2010 

Options Xpress was the latest firm to report a disappointing quarter because of low interest rates and trading volumes.  Fourth quarter net income was down by 22% from a year earlier.  This was mainly because in the net income falling by 41% while trading volume fell by 17%.
 

However from an investor perspective if you have an account with Options Xpress, it is probably the best thing you can do that right now. Check this out: the customer assets for Options Xpress was at an all time high of $ 7 billion. This was 43 % increase over last year although the number of accounts only went up by 10%. This means an average customer of Options Xpress got 33% returns in 2009. This shows the power of their online tools. Since most of these returns have come from derivatives trading.

 

Options Xpress is also known for their extraordinary training modules for new investors. These modules are absolutely free for account holders. Obviously thats a strategy for them to attract new investors, but end of the day for you its a win win situation.

2009 was bad for its competitors: E-trade and tradeking also. Anaylsts at comparebroker therefore recommend having multiple accounts with Tradeking and Options Xpress for maximum value for their bucks. Like a diversified portfolio helps in the investment industry, putting all your checks in one account also does not help much either.