E*Trade Goes After Datek Users With Discount Package

E*Trade (ET Quote) is going after Ameritrade's (AMTD Quote) newly acquired Datek customers in what marks the latest attempt by a big industry player to make up for low volume by nabbing new traders.

After losing out in the bidding war for Datek, E*Trade is advertising on its home page a "special offer for Ameritrade and Datek customers" who transfer their accounts to the company's Power E*Trade active trader platform. The offer, which requires a minimum deposit of $5,000, isn't particularly rich. It includes a $100 bonus, some 30 free stock trades and a $50 refund toward transfer fees.

E*Trade added some heft to the active trader segment of its business Wednesday when it announced the acquisition of online brokerage firm Tradescape. Tradescape will give E*Trade an additional 100,000 trades a day, bringing its overall transactions to more than 200,000 a day. ...