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.

Brokers, Investing discount brokers, SogoInvest, SogoTrade, William Yeh