Price Cuts Don't Help E*Trade

The online broker sees a slide in February trading volume even though it cut commission costs.
By TSC Staff ,

E*Trade

(ET) - Get Report

Wednesday reported lower trading volume in February, a month when it cut commission costs.

The company said total daily average revenue trades fell 6.0% to 135,029. Retail volume rose 0.9% to 90,213, as a surge in international activity offset a decline in the U.S.

Trading volume rose 2.3% in January from the prior month.

The New York-based company said total retail assets and deposits in customer accounts increased 2.0% in February from January, driven by a 2.4% increase in client assets in trading/investing accounts.

E*Trade and other low-cost brokers such as

Charles Schwab

(SCH)

have been cutting trading costs to fuel business amid a period of sluggish online investing.

Among other things, E*Trade last month cut commissions on stock and options trades from $19.99 to $14.99 per trade for investors who have less than $50,000 in assets.

"In February, we made enhancements to our customer-value proposition as a part of our long-term strategic plan," the company said.

Ameritrade

(AMTD) - Get Report

last week reported another slide in average client trades in February as retail investors remained skittish.

Shares ended at $12.75 Tuesday.

Loading ...