According to the January 2001 edition of the BlueSky RatingsÖ, BlueSkyÆs 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.
ôDespite the relatively tough times, we were pleasantly surprised by examples of innovation throughout Europe as we researched over 700 online brokers in eight countries,ö said Suzan Nolan, president and lead marketing analyst for BlueSky International. ôFor 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 thatÆs usually reserved for institutional clients. Comdirect also created a new ôvideo-chatö 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 ôshare of walletö 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 consumer’s 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 RatingsT 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.
