Conference nyoss1::market_investing

    I saw a demo of it at the local office here. It is pretty nice. The
    only problem is those connect charges, at least for me anyways. As I
    recall it was quite expensive. 
    
    
    John

Isn't the connect charge just for extended services ?

I thought that trading and portfolio management was connect chargeless.

Things like Dow and real tim quotes, etc, which you get charged for elsewhere
are also charged for here.

I have never compared charges for Schwab connection to these various services
vs the non Schwab route though.

A belated response ... I have Equalizer.

It indeed does all of the things mentioned in the glossy brochure:
  -	Research
	The primary access is to Dow Jones News/Retrieval, which offers
	a HUGE selection of reports, profiles, statistics, etc. on many
	companies; of course, there is more information on larger ones.
	There is also access to MarketScope.  They use to offer canned
	company reports via Warner but Warner has changed hands and they're
	setting up a deal with someone else.
	Additionally, there is CompuServe-like stuff: news, sports,
	shopping, and so on.  

	It's all set up so that you preselect what you want, it dials up
	and pulls the stuff down to a file, and then disconnects so you
	minimize the online time, but if you want, you can also use the
	Dow Jones Terminal function and nose around ad infinitum.

  -	Trading
	You can do all your trading via Equalizer.  Entering orders is
	very simple and everything is confirmed before it is executed.
	You get a 10% discount on commissions when trading with Equalizer;
	if you're active, that alone could pay back its cost.	

  -	Portfolio Management & Reporting
	Equalizer portfolios are basically just containers for anything
	you want to put in them.  So indeed, you can manage both Schwab
	and non-Schwab assets with them, set up "imaginary" portfolios
	and use the Update function to track current pricing, etc.
	The program generates text reports on the contents of portfolios
	sliced and diced almost any way you can imagine.  

	It would appear (but I haven't tried) that you generate a report
	suitable for importing into MYM or Quicken so that you could use
	it to update pricing if you didn't want to use another financial
	mgt program for that function.

Connect and information unit charges are applied for research and online 
database access, and vary depending on baud rate.  It's very reasonable if 
you stick to off-hours usage (8pm-6am EST.)  Connect charges are currently
like 21 cents a minute for off hours; the information units vary widely, 
but it works out to like $3 to pull a 5-7 page company report downline.

Some nits:  the installation program isn't real great.  It can't handle 
long pathnames in file names.  The portfolio management could have been 
done a little better.  It currently only supports 2400 baud (but that's 
already fixed in the next release.)  There's no way to set up a default 
directory to dump reports in.  The User's Guide, although factual, is in 
desperate need of a real technical documentation person; it tries to be 
both a reference and a tutorial and ends up somewhere in between.

I've used the Tech Support (800 number) and they were easy to get through 
to and _very_ knowledgeable.  They also follow up calls to the support 
folks with evaluation forms in the mail.  Nice touch.

It's all menu-driven and very easy to use.  It's currently a DOS-only 
application, at V2.3, V2.4 is coming out as a free upgrade for existing 
users in May.  A Windows version is currently in beta test and expected out 
in the fall.

When you buy Equalizer, they give you a month free connect time and some
other credits, which also helps to offset the purchase price.

Hope this helps.

re: 284.3 -- Schwab's Equalizer

>	You can do all your trading via Equalizer. ...
>	You get a 10% discount on commissions...
 
      Can you trade Mutual Funds?  With a discount?
      
>                                       ...   Connect charges are currently
>like 21 cents a minute for off hours;...

      Is  ther an 800 number?  Or regional/local numbers?  Or do you pay
      signficant phone charges too?

Scanned in from the Equalizer User's Guide:

These rules govern Schwab on-line trading:

 You can trade the following types of securities: stocks, bonds, options or
 mutual funds.

 The following types of orders are allowed:

   Market, Limit, Stop, and Stop Limit

   Minimum Quantity, and All or None

   Do Not Reduce

   Day, Good-Till-Canceled, Fill/Kill, and Immediate or Cancel

 Limit, Stop, and Stop Limit orders must be within 20% of the current
 market price .

 Stop Limit orders cannot have different stop and limit prices.

 Certain combinations of order constraints are not permitted. Trying to
 enter an order with any of the following combinations will result in
 rejection of the order.

  Do Not Reduce may only be used with Sell Stop orders and Buy Limit
 orders for equities.

  All or None is not allowed with Stop or Stop Limit orders and most
 equity orders for less than 200 shares.


As to the dialup access, there are local numbers.  There are at least four 
that I can use from where I live and I never have any difficulty getting 
through on any of them.  A directory is provided in the kit.  Each 100 
shares traded earns some credit towards connect time charges.  I don't pay 
much attention to what they are since I've never had the charges amount to 
much of anything (i.e., never more than $5-$10 a month.)

They offer different plans.  If you tend to use online stuff like that a 
lot, they have a fixed rate for $25 a month that includes unlimited use of 
some key databases on Dow Jones - //CQ, //CQE, //DJA, //HQ and some others.

    
    
    anyone have any more recent data to add?  Has something better come
    along?  Are your trades executed to your satisfaction?
    
    

  >  anyone have any more recent data to add?  Has something better come
  >  along? 
    
    Schwab StreetSmart (for Windows)?
    
    I like it.
    
    

StreetSmart is roughly a functional equivalent of Equalizer, except that
it is Windows-based (and Windows95 compatible) versus DOS based.  It adds
some nifty graphing capabilities that you can take advantage of if you use
it as a portfolio manager in addition to its trading and research support
functions.

I was a beta tester of StreetSmart.  I like to think I helped them improve
the final product a great deal, especially the documentation.  I got to use
it for free for the (several) months of beta, which to me was worth it since
I pounded on the Dow Jones News/Retrieval the whole time.

Being Windows software, you can look at multiple things simultaneously,
an occasional frustration with Equalizer, now eliminated.  The toolbar
is convenient.  Their (800#) support is first class.

The dialup access has changed.  Schwab no longer maintains its own numbers.
Rather, you dial your local CompuServe access number and use a Schwab account
to access the appropriate servers (it's all done transparently).  If you didn't
live in an urban area (near a Schwab office) before, it was long distance.
But now with CompuServe, there's a local access number for almost everyone.

The charges for the Dow Jones New/Retreival etc. have changed -- it's gotten
a lot more expensive.  They basically eliminated the advantage of having a
faster modem and now charge by information unit transferred.  It's easy to
run up a very big bill.  I only use it for trading at this point, to get
the 10% discount.

So, there's pluses and minuese.

It really depends what you're after.  If all you want is cheap electronic
trading, something like E*Trade might fit the bill more closely.  It's a
great portfolio manager and it's nice to be able to download to automatically
update prices, but then Quicken is really great for portfolio management too.
The research tool is nice, but it's awfully hard to sit on the throne and
ponder that WSJ article when it's on your PC screen instead of the printed
page.

Hope this helps.

    
    Thanks for the info.  Yes, online trading is my primary goal.  I've
    ordered the Stock Quoter 2 system for my market data, so Dow Jones News
    Retrieval costs are not a significant factor.
    
    I'm leaning toward Schwab because I've heard very positive comments
    about their services, they have local offices, and I already have an
    IRA account with them.  FOX (Fidelity Online Express) seems to be in
    second place, but the comments I've read aren't as positive.  I don't
    know anything about Etrade, so I'll have to research that service.
    
    Again, thanks for your opinions and pointers.
    

    It is very good - I use it and update all my transactions
    (automatically) and then at the end of the year - like today (4/16/95)
    I kicked out all Sch D Transactions (in TXF format) to be automatically
    accepted in TURBOTAX-94.  
    
    It works great for TRANSACTIONS, QUOTES, BALANCE CHECKS, HISTORY of
    ASSETS etc etc (all of the stuff in previous notes).  The local
    compuserve number works great.  My only complaint is that for any
    non-activity for x minutes, it kicks me off the Schwab system.
    
    Ken  

SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (NYSE: 
SCH), today announced a new way for computer-only investors to conduct 
their brokerage business.  e.Schwab, a fully integrated software package 
for Windows(TM), gives significant commission savings to investors who 
prefer to conduct all their business primarily through their personal 
computer. 
   "There is a growing segment of the population that feels very 
comfortable managing their investment portfolios through personal 
computers," stated Charles R. Schwab, Chairman.  "We can reward self-
directed investors who wish to conduct all their business on-line with 
significant commission savings matched with Schwab quality." 
   In a recent Schwab customer survey, two-thirds of Schwab customers own 
a  personal computer and the percentage of total trades placed by Schwab  
customers via personal computer increased from 7% to 15% in 1995. Schwab 
has been an innovator in online trading by personal computer since 1985 
with its introduction of The Equalizer for DOS. 
   e.Schwab investors pay a flat fee of $39 on any stock transaction up 
to 1,000 shares, and $39 plus $0.03 per share over 1,000 shares.  Trades 
over 5,000 shares are negotiable.  Mutual funds, listed corporate bonds, 
and options can be purchased for 10% off Schwab's standard commission 
schedule.  There are no transaction fees for 360 mutual funds in the 
Schwab Mutual Fund OneSource(TM) service. 
   Electronic accounts available through e.Schwab include Brokerage, IRA, 
Trust and Custodial.  A $5,000 initial and minimum balance is required 
for each account. e.Schwab customers can conduct all customer service 
inquiries through two-way email.  In addition to access to real-time 
quotes and extensive portfolio management capabilities, e.Schwab offers 
access to a variety of external investment research databases including 
Standard & Poor's MarketScope(R) for a fee. e.Schwab software is provided 
when an account is opened with a $6.95 shipping and handling charge. 
   Schwab recently introduced StreetSmart(TM) 2.0 for Windows and offers  
StreetSmart(TM) for Macintosh and The Equalizer(R) for DOS. StreetSmart 
and Equalizer customers receive 10% off Schwab's everyday low commissions 
and have unlimited access to Schwab branch offices and service centers. 
   Schwab is a leading financial services firm serving over 3.3 million 
active investor accounts with  $178 billion in client equity.  Member 
SIPC/NYSE.  Windows(TM) is a registered trademark of the Microsoft 
Corporation. 

    The UI for StreetSmart(tm) 2.0 is awful. Much of the package is
    non-intuitive. I only use it for downloading current balances, etc.
    
    The communications piece always disconnects after a short timeout
    forcing me to redail. 
    
    As a result, I hardly use it. 
    
    my .02
    
    Wim