It’s been a while since I’d heard anything from William Yeh of SogoInvest, so I thought I’d drop by the website and snoop around a bit. To my surprise, SogoInvest has changed its name to SogoTrade.

Mr. Yeh, CEO of SogoTrade, states in a letter to clients that the name change is an effort to align the brand identity more effectively with the business focus and core strengths. He goes on to say that:

SogoTrade will afford greater clarity by powerfully expressing our enduring qualities of innovation, service, and value while also expressing our business focus – providing advanced trading technology at low commissions to meet the needs of traders and investors alike. -Source

Along with the name change, the website has been relocated to www.SogoTrade.com and has been given a face lift and features a more sophisticated user interface and more comprehensive trading functionality.

SogoInvest started out as a low-cost competitor in an already over-populated online discount brokerage market. Backed by technology stemming from Genesis Securities, they are bringing professional trading tools to the individual investor.

Since I my last post about SogoInvest, SogoTrade has added no-fee dividend reinvestment plans to the ballot, which was a major sticking point during the last discussion on the brokerage.

SogoTrade is expanding out to offer a platform for just about every level of investor. SogoTrade is the web-based platform featuring the SogoTrade trading center with real time quotes and charts, scheduled investment services, streaming watch lists, free DRIPs, and free ACH deposits and withdrawals.

SogoElite is a downloadable platform powered by Laser, the NASDAQ Platinum rated platform featuring Streaming Level 1 quotes, customizable real-time charts with technical indicators, extended hours trading, a customizable platform interface and real time sales data.

SogoPro is coming soon, but will be a NASDAQ Platinum rated trading application that features Level 2 quotes, direct connections to major ECN’s and market makers, extended hours trading, customizable real-time charts and technical indicators, extended hours trading and time and sales data.

Starting to compete with the major players

It seems that SogoTrade is starting to incorporate many of the features found at it’s competitors like TDAmeritrade and E*Trade. The revamped website helps, and makes it look like a more professional trading interface.

The key to SogoTrade will be longevity. There is some serious consolidation in the online brokerage market right now, which I think is a good thing. If after the dust settles SogoTrade can continue to compete, it will only serve to increase the client base.

I received an email from Steve Carpenter yesterday. Typically when I receive emails from someone I don’t know, I’m enticed to “file” the message accordingly, however I opened this one, not knowing what to expect.

Steve is the founder and CEO of Cake Financial Corporation.

After reading his email, I found myself intrigued with his new service. Cake is a new online financial service that allows individuals to display their actual portfolio,and keep track of how the portfolio has done over a period of time. It also lets you share your portfolio and real-time trading information with trusted family and friends without ever revealing sensitive personal information like net worth, number of shares, or portfolio sizes.

The way it works is that you link up your brokerage account with Cake, and it keeps track of your performance, and allows you to compare your performance with that of your peers. You can see how others are trading, and even collaborate investment strategies online.

For each Cake member, you can see the overall performance of that persons portfolio over a range of 5 days to 5 years. You can also see what’s on that members watch list, see who’s in their Cake network, and even read their investing journal.

It’s basically a conglomerate of the ultimate financial blog sites. What’s great is that since it’s linked directly to your brokerage account, it lends credibility to your financial performance.

Cake’s number one priority is protecting personal and financial information. Founder and Chief Technical Officer, Doug Reed, has had some experience creating secure financial environments in the past, so he’s got some experience keeping the privacy hacks at bay.

I’ll keep researching Cake, and perhaps have Steven answer a few questions in Corner Office Interview.

Until then, here are some more links to Cake:

Cake Financial Home

Cake Financial Blog

The Cake Financial Players

Cake On Cramer

In a case of what could be over saturation in the online discount brokerage firm field, ex24 has closed up shop.

Back in November of last year, I had a chance to speak with Anthony Link, ex24’s Chief Operating Officer. Bound with excitement, both he and James Lennane, the company’s founder had high expectations for the company.

Perhaps the expectations were too high.

Despite marketing campaigns that included iPod giveaways, free trading periods, guaranteed portfolio performance and access to fractional shares of sought-after stocks such as Google Inc. (GOOG) shortly after its initial public offering, the platform never gained momentum.

“We were looking to go further, faster, which is why we decided to call it a day,” said Anthony Link, the company’s chief operating officer. -Source

The company never made any money, and was being fed a healthy diet of capital by its founder who finally decided he’d had enough.

The company’s website has been shut down, leaving only the following message:

ex24 is sorry to announce that as of May 14, 2007 we are no longer doing business. If you have any concerns about your ex24 Member account please contact Member Support Services at (800) 524-3924.

Thank you.
ex24, Inc.
200 Patriot Way
Naples, Florida 34104
(800) 524-3924

This is a prime example of a failing business plan due to not being able to attract customers. I wouldn’t really call it a failure of marketing per se, but rather a failure of a combination of things that failed to attract any capital.

Profit margins are slim in the discount brokerage sector, and lacking clients means dwindling income.

I was never a big fan of their ATS order book concept. The idea was that individual buyers could be matched up with individual sellers through the platform itself. Effectively this would make a 24 hour market.

The problem with this idea is that it’s only useful if there is liquidity, not only in the stock but in the platform itself. It is useless if there are only 100 traders using ex24 and not one of them wants to buy your 200 shares of Google for anything above market value. The lack of volume and the thin number of available securities doomed this idea from the beginning.

Anyway, ex24 customers had the option of closing out their accounts or being transferred to Vienna, Va., brokerage firm FOLIOfn Inc.

A little over 3 weeks since T. Rowe Price “misplaced” over $9,000 worth of my retirement roll over, I’ve finally received word that they’ve deposited the balance into my account and backdated all purchases to the original roll over date.

So we’re square. Irritated, but square.

This is my first experience with target-date retirement funds, but I like the concept. You pick a fund with a target date close to that which you expect to retire. Over time, the funds allocation between stocks and bonds shift to a less aggressive portfolio and lower risk structure.

Since I’ve got a few (~38 to be exact) years till I “retire”, the fund is structured towards high growth. Over time it will shift to a more conservative allocation with a focus on preservation.

I’ve also purchased a significant amount of company stock which, if history bears repeating itself, should appreciate quite nicely.

I’ll share more about my retirement structure at a later date, but as of last night, T. Rowe Price is back in my good graces.

ML, at My 1st Million at 33, is test driving Zecco.com as a low cost brokerage.

Zecco is one of the latest ventures to join the low/no commission online brokerage game, and much like Sogo Invest, Bank of America, TD Ameritrade, and ETrade (among others), they are trying to blow open a new niche in the discount brokerage market.

So far so good for ML, as he’s got his initial ACH transfer deposited into his Zecco account.

Check out the post to follow up on his experience.

Thanks to a tip from David C., it appears that Sogo Invest has carved out their own little niche in the blogosphere.

With Sogo President William Yeh and Alex Kravets (content developer) as authors, Sogo is sure to get some great feedback from their site.

William was more than receptive to the response generated from my initial interview post, and it appears that customer requests have not been taken lightly!

Good luck with your blog guys!

SogoInvest Blog

Yet another low cost brokerage firm has entered the market. Actually, they\’ve been in the market for a number of years, and the word is just now getting out.

ex24 is another player in the discount brokerage game, and like others in the same business, offer low commission trades for stock traders. Naturally, there are a few things that set ex24 apart from their competition, as well as a few areas left for development.

The ATS Order Book is a feature I’ve not seen anywhere else. Effectively, the ex24 platform hosts its own sub-market if you will, allowing account holders to trade stocks between each other around the clock. It’s kind of a neat idea.

ex24 does clear their own trades, which eliminates the middleman, and hence some pass through costs to customers.

I had an opportunity to ask Chief Operating Officer, Anthony Link, a few questions about ex24:

1. Tell me a little history behind ex24 and the parent company, bidnask.

The initial idea was to create an electronic stock exchange where participants could trade directly between one another similar to what ebay does now for all other items. In pursuing this idea and working with regulators, it was decided that we would build an Alternative Trading System (ATS) as defined by SEC Regulation ATS. From there, efforts set forth to build the ex24 ATS and to form ex24, Inc. as a self-clearing broker/dealer. Today the ex24 ATS (ex24 Order Books), provides 24/7, Member to Member trading and instantaneous settlements.

This fall ex24 unveiled its US Markets Trading platform. The ex24 US Markets Trading platform provides Members with additional avenues for order entry. Members can enter traditional share based orders or real-time dollar-based orders. Trades conducted on the ex24 U.S. Markets Trading platform are routed to outside market centers and have traditional T+3 settlement.

bidnask.com, inc.(bidnask) is the parent company and sole shareholder of ex24, Inc. bidnask provides all of the technology behind ex24.

2. As you are aware, there seems to be an increase in the number of low cost brokerages coming into the market place. With so many different possibilities, what sets ex24 apart from the rest?

Innovation is really the characteristic that defines ex24. Yes, currently our breadth of products does not compare to the likes of Schwab or TDAmeritrade, but our products offer unique capabilities and additional products and services will come over time as we grow. Our core product/service is equity investing which began with our unique ATS; from there we have added traditional (share-based) equity investing and real-time Dollar based investing. As our products/services continue to grow, our focus will continue to better enable the investor through innovation, clarity, speed and reliability. Within the next 9 months expect to see another innovative product from ex24 that we believe will have broad appeal and be unique to ex24. This new product will continue to enhance the ease in which ex24 Members can invest.

ex24 offers its Members three great ways to invest in equities; they can be described as follow:

A. Members can enter traditional share based orders that are routed to outside market centers and have standard T+3 settlement.

B. Unique to ex24, Members can enter real-time dollar based orders. For example you can buy $1,000 of GOOG. The advantage here is that you can hold fractional shares (to six decimal places) and easily monitor your account by the change in dollar value. Further, unlike our competitors, our dollar based trading is real-time, so you are not constrained by a few set times, as done by a couple competitors. You can actually complete a dollar-based transaction in real time and do so when you think the price of the stock is advantageous. One more item to note, unlike at least one of our competitors, our commissions for purchases or sales are the same.

C. Unique to ex24 is the ex24 Order Book (ATS). The ex24 Order Book allows Members to trade odd lots of a select list of popular securities directly between one another 24/7 with instantaneous settlement. The Order Books are dynamic and provide the user with an interactive trading experience.

3. While not offering the lowest commissions on the block, your feeschedule is reasonable. How does ex24 make money off $4 trades?

We built ex24 as self-clearing broker/dealer from the ground up including a complete back office system. Since we do not utilize a legacy vender system for our back office and because we do not need to pay another clearing firm for every transaction or activity we have been able to greatly reduce the cost of processing a trade.

Furthermore, when Members trade on our ATS our technology allows us to clear and settle the transaction instantaneously. These instantly settled trades are on a book entry basis, thus eliminating or reducing settlement risk, outside settlement, clearing fees and Member service demand. Trades on the ex24 ATS provides a secure and efficient mechanism at a fraction of the cost. Our systems allow us to continually increase the amount of transactions processed without continuously decrementing the cost for additional business. ex24 then passes the savings along to our Members via inexpensive commissions.

When comparing overall cost, we believe that our $4 commission is one of the most reasonable. Yes, there are a few that offer a less per trade cost, but they usually come with a monthly subscription fee. In the case of Bank of America’s zero commission offer, it is looking to gain income from other services in which you may have $25,000 or more invested with them. Currently, ex24 is providing Commission Free investing until year-end for all share-based orders.

4. Your ATS Order Book is a novel idea. What was the logic behind allowing ex24 account holders to exchange shares with each other outside of the rest of the market?

Why not! Wouldn’t it be great if you could electronically buy or sell stock in an exchange like environment?

Today, the usual practice is to give your order to your broker and they take it from there. Our thought was to build a system/market center in which the individual investor actually gets to participate similar to on an exchange. If you will, a sort of ebay for stock, make investing easy for anyone and possibly fun. The ex24 system offers an avenue for investing that all can participate in, and where cost or barrier of entry are null.

5. Retirement savings is a hot topic of many younger people these days with the focus on saving more and spending less. Currently ex24 does not offer retirement (IRA) accounts. Any plans to do so in the future?

Yes, ex24 will offer retirement accounts in the future. I would estimate this at 9–15 months.

6. How about margin accounts?

Yes, we anticipate offering margin accounts in about 12-18 months.

7. Jim Lennane, the ex24 founder, has some extensive experience in the high tech world of computer programming geared toward the newspaper industry. What kind of experience does he bring to an online low cost brokerage?

Since taking his first company public on the Nasdaq to its eventual listing on the NYSE, Mr. Lennane has had a considerable interest in the markets and securities laws that support them. When SEC Regulation ATS came to fruition, his innovative thinking led to the creation of the ex24 Order Books (ATS). The ex24 Order Books seek to provide an accessible and interactive way for all to participate in the market without a lot of noise in the middle. Additionally, his life long career in technology, experience with system architecture, and fail over redundancy has been instrumental in the structure of our systems.

8. Back in April, 2004, ex24 launched its 24/7 trading platform after NASDAQ approval to serve the general public. How has the client base grown since then? What kind of value-added services has ex24 developed for its clients?

With minimal advertising we have grown fairly well. Generally, client growth has been at a slow and steady pace. However about 18 months ago we ran an ipod promotion that was quite successful. However, from that promotion we have since learned that we needed to increase our product base before focusing on attracting new Members (clients). In the last year and a half we have focused our efforts on building the ex24 U.S. Markets Trading platform. This trading platform offers both tradition share-based investing with standard T+3 settlement and real-time Dollar-Based investing. The benefits here are that Members are no longer restricted to a limited set of companies to invest in. Our unique real-time, dollar-based investing allows ex24 Members to buy dollar amounts ($10-$10,000) of any Exchange or Nasdaq Global Market listed issue anytime the market is open. Unlike our competitors who limit dollar based trading to a few specific times, ex24 Members enter dollar based trades in real time and further enjoy the same commission rates for sales as they do for purchases.

We have found our Members to be excited about our trading platform and loyal to the system. Two features we continuously have positive feedback on is our T+0 settlements for ATS transactions and our cost basis tracking. The T+0 settlements provide instantaneous settlement making proceeds immediately available for trading or withdrawal. Our cost basis tracking provides Members with the ability to sell a specific lot of stock based on FIFO, LIFO, or by lot preference. At years end ex24 also provides Members with a Schedule D-1 to assist with taxable gains/losses.

Plus! Until year-end, Members enjoy Zero commission on all share-based orders.

9. There is some skepticism abound among low cost brokerage clients that \”you get what you pay for.\” Four dollar trades are attractive, but how does the ex24 performance on trade execution and price stand up to more costly brokerages like TD Ameritrade, etc?

Just like any other broker/dealer, ex24 has the same responsibilities for the handling of customer orders and the same accountability of providing best execution for the orders it processes. So whether you pay $35, $15, or $10 per trade somewhere else, you will receive the same quality execution at ex24 for just $4 per trade. Additionally, until year-end all share-based orders are commission free.

In terms of performance, we are quite pleased with our results. On the ex24 ATS, transactions occur within a couple seconds and usually within fractions of a second. On the ex24 US Markets Trading platform, most trades complete and are reported back to your account within a couple seconds. ex24 Members can easily view details of trade processing performance from within their account.

10. Customer support is crucial in the brokerage business and can make or break a relationship with a client. How many people work at ex24 in a support role?

We couldn’t agree more regarding the importance of customer support. As ex24 is small organization with less than a dozen employees, there is a sense of all hands on deck with everything we do. This has actually helped us to not only build a solid system, but to also utilize technology to both support Member services and to minimize points of failure that create support demands. We will continue to add associates as business needs dictate.

11. Any time frame on when ex24 will be able to accommodate DRIPs?

Yes we will provide dividend reinvestment in the future but we do not have a set time frame as of yet. However, I do not anticipate it being a long ways off as we already account for fractional share ownership to the sixth decimal place.

12. Your company is open to taking on partners to provide content and services for ex24. Are you still looking for third party solutions to add to ex24?

Yes, we are always looking for better solutions and ways to bring value to our Members.

13. Currently ex24 is fairly lean in providing stock research and reports. Any plans to offer such utilities and resources in the future?

Currently we provide research information from MarketWatch and free S&P Stock Reports. Yes, additional resources and utilities will be added in the future. The content added will be based on both new products/services offered as well as feedback from our Members. Within 4-8 weeks we will be adding intra-day market data (Most Actives, Gainers/Losers, etc). Also, we will be expanding security search functionality giving Members ability to search by sector, industry, performance, analyst recommendations, etc.

14. Ex24 does not offer accounts to Canadian citizens. Do you plan on expanding your market into Canada in the near future?

Yes, the time frame here would be similar to IRA account at 9-15 months

15. What kinds of stocks can be bought and sold with ex24? (i.e. NASDAQ, NYSE, OCTBB, pink sheets…)

ex24 provides trading of NYSE, AMEX, and NASDAQ Global Market listed equities including Exchange Traded Funds. ex24 does not provide trading in OTCBB or Pink Sheet issues

…

Thank you, Mr. Link for taking the time to comment on ex24 and how it can serve the investment community.

Disclaimer: This post does not in any way constitute a recommendation to use ex24 as a brokerage. Not all brokerages are the same, and ex24 may not be suitable for all investors investment strategies.

Additional Resources
ex24 Website
ex24 Guest Test Drive
Investor Benefits
Fee Schedule
ex24 Order Book

As a TD Ameritrade APEX customer, I’m getting a sneak preview of a revamped website for the broker.

The new look is, well, different. The menus have been redesigned, but the overall menu structure is the same. Data is organized a bit better, but the all-green layout is a bit overpowering.

New research material is provided by Ford Equity Research and TheStreet.com, both of which compliment the existing MarketEdge and S&P Reports nicely.

The Morningstar Portfolio X-Ray is a new tool that examines your portfolio for diversification, although you can use it free here. You can also use the tool to screen for an optimum diversification among industry, country or asset allocation type. Kind of handy.

TD Ameritrade says they’ve made their charting more interactive than ever with even more settings, but personally, I think they’re trying too hard. Interactive charting is cute, but it really doesn’t add much in my book, and there really isn’t any more “interaction” than my stockcharts.com charts.

Out of the various new “features” they’ve added, I think the MorningStar Portfolio X-Ray is the most useful, and I could take or leave the other stuff. The new green page layout is a bit… green… but I think I can get used to it.

Look for TD Ameritrade to open up their new site to all clients on October 27, and let me know your opinions on the new layout.

Additional Information
TD Ameritades New Features and Layout Guide

 
TD Ameritrade has a new feature coming out for Apex customers called Level II with TotalView. 

Level II quotes show the market liquidity and if used correctly, can give you a very short term direct to the market sentiment of a stock.  Orders are shown for both the bid and ask (buy/sell) along with the order sizes.

The new TotalView features will include:

-All the liquidity for NASDAQ-listed securities at each price level from every market participant, not just the top prices from each participant.

-A timeline showing the best bid/ask prices from individual market participants, making it easier to see interest in a given stock depending on its level of liquidity.

-The actual buy and sell interest, with data from specific price filters that may help reveal potential trading opportunities.

-Indications of possible opening and closing market prices sent out by NASDAQ in the minutes leading up to the market open and market close.

I like using the Level II quotes when I’m placing a trade so I can see trends among the market makers.  While it only gets me a few extra pennies per share, every little bit counts.

Additional Resources
Level II Definition
Introduction to Level II Quotes
Electronic Trading Tutorial

I received an update from Sogo Invest on their ACH policy.  There has been a great discussion on their transfer policy in a previous post with an interview with Sogo’s President, William Yeh.

Since that discussion is getting a bit long, I thought I’d start a new post on the ACH topic.  Below is the latest reply from Sogo Invest management concerning their ACH fund transfer policy.  It’s refreshing to see a company so receptive to customer feedback!

——————————————————–

As mentioned in our earlier post, SogoInvest has now officially adopted a faster ACH fund transfer policy. The entire funding process now proceeds as follows:

Day 1: Initiate the ACH transfer on Sogoinvest.com. If the submission time is prior to 5pm EST, the transfer will process the following day. Requests submitted after 5pm EST will be processed 2 days later (on Day 3).

Day 2: Funds are withdrawn from your outside bank account. Overnight, going into Day 3, the funds are posted to your SogoInvest account.

Day 3: Prior to market open, funds are available for trading. Your cash balance and buying power is increased.

For example, if you initiate a transfer on Monday (before 5pm), funds are moved on Tuesday, and you can trade using those funds on Wednesday morning.

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please feel free to contact us via email, secure message center, or phone.

Regards,

SogoInvest Management

For those looking for a discount stock broker, there is an interesting discussion pertaining to how they handle margin and ACH transactions in a pervious post.

“Vacman” and “indexfundfan” have brought to light some legitimate concerns about when margin interest is applied, and how long it takes to transfer money in to Sogo Invest.  What’s really impressive is that there are official responses to the discussion from Sogo Invest management (filtered through me).

The company is very interested in feedback, so if you have anything to contribute, please know that the management team from Sogo Invest reads TheCornerOfficeBlog regularly!

Check out the post and the discussion.

David Houle’s post on Sogo Invest and how they have cut commissions by eliminating the middle man sparked my interest, and I was fortunate enough to land an exclusive interview with Sogo Invest President, William Yeh.

My first reaction is that Mr. Yeh is very much in tune with what the every day investor wants in an online trading brokerage platform: low prices, ease of use and great service.

The following is a summarized transcript of our conversation:

Grant: Mr. Yeh, you’ve got a solid background in the brokerage industry with the development of Genesis Securities, LLC and the Laser trading platform.  Tell me a little about the Laser platform.

William: My history is in trading futures, and I believe in utilizing automation and electronics to remove the human hands from trading, making the whole financial process as fluid as possible.  That’s why we created the Laser system.

We developed the Laser trading platform to interact directly with the markets, and in turn we eliminated the need to buy information from a third party.  We get all of our data directly from the NYSE and the NASDAQ.  We also clear our own trades, eliminating yet another third party.

The Laser system was developed for the professional trader, and it has retained a Platinum rating from the NASDAQ.  Other trading platforms such as E*Trade have a Silver rating.

Grant: You’ve got great technology for the professional trader, and you trade between 2-4% of the daily volume on the NASDAQ.  What inspired you to develop Sogo Invest?

William: We really developed Sogo Invest for the simple, every day trader. While the Laser system is used primarily for the professional trader, we are taking that technology and putting into Sogo Invest.

Grant: How can Sogo Invest undercut the rest of the online brokerage markets in terms of commissions and fees?

William: Since we buy our own data directly from the NASDAQ and the NYSE and we clear our own trades, we’ve eliminated many of our third party costs.  We pass these savings directly on to our customer.  We could raise our commissions to $10, $8, or $6, and enjoy a larger profit, but we want to pass these savings on to the customer to get more people to join us, and more importantly stay with us.

The large amount of volume we clear every day also helps keep costs down, based on the economy of scale.

Our price speaks loudly, but service is also key.

Grant: Does Sogo Invest have its own dedicated customer service team, or are you relying on Genesis for that support?

William: Our customer service is well established with Genesis, but Sogo Invest does have it’s own dedicated customer service department. Our customer service staff will answer in four rings or less.

We have created online video tours of many of the processes and features, but you can always call us.  During the last few days since we took Sogo Invest public, the response has been overwhelming, but we didn’t overload our phones. I think this is mostly in part to keeping everything easy and providing good online video tours and support.

Grant: What is your philosophy with Sogo Invest?

William:  I asked my self, “Why do I want to be part of the crowd? There will be another William Yeh that will come along and charge less than the other guy”.  It’s really all about adding value for the people, and the technology opens up frictionless trading.

I believe people should invest for the long term, taking advantage of dollar cost averaging and compounding from the markets.  The ability to invest in fractional shares provides added value to the customer, making it easier to invest what you can afford.

Grant: When will IRA accounts and mutual funds be available?

William:  The majority of people are still interested in mutual funds because ETF’s are so new. We’ll offer mutual funds in the next couple of months, but IRA accounts will come first, within the next month or two, if not sooner.

Grant: Can investors open a margin account?

William:  You can open a margin account right now as a matter of fact.

Grant: What about trading options?

William: We’ll add the ability to trade options in a few months, but IRA accounts will come first.

Grant: Does Sogo Invest provide investors the ability to take advantage of Dividend Re-Investment Programs (DRIP’s)?

William: That option is not in place yet, but it’s not out of the question.  We have the technology to make it happen, it’s just whether or not the people want it.  What ever makes it easier for the people.  If we get a response from the people that they want something, we have it and we’ll make it available immediately.

Grant: Does Sogo Invest have some of the higher end utilities like Level II quotes, real time charts, time and sales, etc?

William:  These utilities will be included in Sogo Invest, and we will not charge for them. I like to give away things for free, and since we developed and own the software, we’ll include it for free. We want to spoil the customer and win their business.  What ever the people want, we will provide it.

Grant: I understand that customers can fund their account through automatic transfer, but can they transfer funds directly from another broker into Sogo Invest?

William: Absolutely.  You just fill out the form and we take care of the rest.

Grant: Will Sogo Invest users have the ability to set stops: limit stops, trailing stops, etc?

William:  We have stops, but they’re more for professional traders and I’m not sure that’s something the simple trader needs or wants. However, if the people want it, we have it.  It’s just whether they want it or not, but we have to keep it easy.

My mantra is that “it has to be so easy my mother can do it!”

Grant: Well that about wraps up all my questions, thank you for your time and good luck with Sogo Invest!

William:  Thank you, Grant, and call or email me any time with questions.

Additional Information:

Sogo Invest Website
Genesis Securities Website
Sogo Invest Press Release (pdf)
Wall Street Journal Article  (pdf)
CNN Money Article
Sogo Invest Comparison

I’ll have more thoughts on Sogo Invest and how they stand up to the rest of the online brokerage market in future posts.

Futurist David Houle (EvolutionShift.com) has revealed a new player that has entered the lineup in the discount brokerage game.  SogoInvest is making their public debut today offering up one of the most attractive brokerage packages out there for the individual investor.

What makes SogoInvest so competitive?  For one, their dirt cheap commissions starting at $3 per trade for investors with a Bronze account.  Want to cut your commissions even further? Opening up a Gold or Platinum account and paying the $10 or $15 monthly subscription fee will knock your commissions down to $1.50 and $1.00, respectively.

On top of their commission schedule, you can by fractions of shares by using their automated service (buy $100 worth of Google rather than a full shares worth), making trading with SogoInvest that much more attractive to those traders who dollar-cost average their investments.

SogoInvest is founded by William Yeh, who also founded the parent company Genesis Securities back in 1999.  Genesis Securities pioneered the Laser technology, which is one of the fastest direct market access systems in the world.  Alone, Genesis executes between 2 and 4% of the NASDAQ’s daily volume, and between 1-1.5% of the NYSE/AMEX daily volume.  Because of their direct link to the market (read this as pure disintermediation for EvolutionShift readers), they can pass their savings on to the individual SogoInvest trader.

SogoInvest appears to be a great platform for novice traders or those who have a fairly automated investment strategy and don’t follow the market action on a daily basis.  Experienced traders used to using advanced tools will find the SogoInvest research tools a bit simplistic, many of which are readily available at Yahoo! Finance and similar financial sites.  However, this is what helps keep the commissions and fees low at SogoInvest.

As of today, they have yet to allow users to establish retirement accounts; however this appears to be in the works.  In addition, SogoInvest plans on offering education savings accounts, which few other brokers offer.

SogoInvest appears to be the bottom line leader in terms of commissions and fees, has no monthly maintenance fees, no minimum to invest, and the automatic investment feature (which allows you to automatically invest a set amount of money each day, week, month) is particularly attractive for those who want to automate their trading discipline.  The ability to purchase fractional shares and dollar-cost average their investment is particularly attractive to those who don’t have their nose stuck to the ticker each passing hour trying to time the market.

With my level of investment knowledge, I do like having access to the advanced tools and research reports provided by TDAmeritrade, but it’s tough to turn down those low commissions.  One strategy is to keep my Ameritrade account for longer term holdings and mutual funds, and open a SogoInvest account to do more frequent trading in, capitalizing on the smaller commissions.

One drawback to SogoInvest is the inability to trade or invest in mutual funds.  Additionally, for those options traders, SogoInvest is not for you.  Neither the website nor the press release addresses the buying mutual funds or trading options (which I fully understand are for the more experienced investor), however I’d like the ability to diversify my portfolio outside of ETF’s and individual stocks.

I’ll get a chance to address Mr. Yeh on Wednesday during an interview in Chicago, and I’ll let you know his response to these issues.

Additional Information
SogoInvest Website
Commission Schedule
Wall St. Journal Article  (requires subscription)
CNN Money Article

SogoInvest Launch Wall Street Journal