Tradeking - History and Development

December 2005
Online Broker TradeKing Launches with Internet's Lowest Commissions

TradeKing, an online broker led by a team that helped pioneer online trading, unveiled its Web site, www.tradeking.com, offering the next generation of online trading services. With a flat fee of $4.95 for both equity and option trades, plus 65 cents per contract for options, TradeKing offers the lowest trading commissions on the Internet, with no hidden fees or account minimums. All TradeKing customers pay the same fee, regardless of trading volume or assets in the account.

TradeKing customers will be able to trade and manage a full suite of investments, including stocks, traditional options, mutual funds, exchange traded funds, bonds and Treasuries.

The online trading platform is complemented by a comprehensive set of information tools, including access to voluminous, but customized information such as a personalized RSS newsreader, educational podcasts, customized financial blogs and a Wiki community – all designed to make the TradeKing experience more engaging, more efficient and more effective.

TradeKing's founder, Donato A. Montanaro, Jr., created the online broker SURETRADE Inc. in 1997 and is recognized as one of the pioneers in electronic trading.



Donato A. Montanaro, Jr., TradeKing’s founder and CEO, is an electronic brokerage pioneers. He worked in the industry back in 1992 when online trading involved connecting to a broker through CompuServe with a 1200-baud dial-up modem.

Montanaro was the founder of SureTrade, launched in 1997 and it offered the lowest online trading commissions, $7.95. SureTrade became the 8th largest online broker and merged with Quick & Reilly’s online brand as part of Fleet Bank and Fleet Financial.

According to Montanaro, the online brokerage operational model is one of a few “proven”, even mature, business models on the Internet. Data exchanged via the Internet, including stock quotes, research reports, financial statements, analysis and trade order information, makes the net ideally suited to this business. The growth in the popularity of trading online has been driven by a strong desire by an increasing number of people to connect with – and control – their own personal finances. Additionally, revenue for a firm like TradeKing is primarily transaction-based, and expenses are largely variable. That lets you build and scale a business at the appropriate pace.

Montanaro feels TradeKing's idea is to shock clients with a truly fresh approach to their needs. TradeKing is one of the few brokerage firms that offers brokerage clients a real choice.

The company’s target market is a select group of traders who are active, Web-based traders who like to trade options and stocks.

TradeKing investors include members of the Quick family, founders of Quick and Reilly, and Bruce Rauner, a principal at the Chicago private equity firm GTCR. Two other nationally known venture capital firms holding an interest in the firm are Battery Ventures and OCA Ventures.

The typical profile of a TradeKing client is an experienced, knowledgeable online trader – approximately 80% of whom are male – who tends to trade actively during all market conditions and who increasingly uses option trading as a tool, whether to hedge or “insure” an equity stock position or to leverage potential return on a directional prediction.

Differentiation offered by TradeKing

TradeKing integrates a traditional trading platform with new option trading tools, such as the P&L Calculator, the Probability Calculator, and nineteen different strategic option chains. It also is the only brokerage firm in the world to actively use Web 2.0 tools, including a Wiki, blogs and RSS newsreader, within its brokerage platform. The company also places great emphasis on providing world-class customer service. Its motto is that clients are real people, not numbers, – and we treat each person with respect. TradeKing has found a way to offer the lowest commissions in the industry, while still maintaining a healthy operating margin, that displays the ability to manage technology, marketing and clearing expenses while maintaining revenue growth.

TradeKing is a next generation niche player within the industry – nimble, client-focused, and powered by community.

Online Discount Broker TradeKing Introduces Professional-Grade Portfolio Management Capabilities Using Portfolio Director 8.0 Desktop

Online discount broker TradeKing (www.tradeking.com) recently announced it now offers its clients access to portfolio management capabilities from Portfolio Director, Inc. (www.portfoliodirector.com), leaders in developing and supporting best-of-breed portfolio management systems. TradeKing clients can upload their TradeKing account data for both equities and options to the Portfolio Director 8.0 Desktop software to see time-weighed returns, compare their performance to key benchmarks, produce end-of-year gain/loss information and other flexible reports, re-balance holdings instantly according to model portfolios, view asset allocation by symbol, investment type, Morningstar category, and other professional portfolio management capabilities.

Boca Raton, FL (PRWEB) February 15, 2008 -- Online discount broker TradeKing (www.tradeking.com) recently announced it now offers its clients access to portfolio management capabilities from Portfolio Director, Inc. (www.portfoliodirector.com), leaders in developing and supporting best-of-breed portfolio management systems. TradeKing clients can upload their TradeKing account data for both equities and options to the Portfolio Director 8.0 Desktop software to see time-weighed returns, compare their performance to key benchmarks, produce end-of-year gain/loss information and other flexible reports, re-balance holdings instantly according to model portfolios, view asset allocation by symbol, investment type, Morningstar category, and other professional portfolio management capabilities.

"At this time of year, we know clients often review their annual portfolio performance so they can assess tax impact, re-balance their portfolios, check asset allocation, and so forth," said Don Montanaro, CEO and chairman of TradeKing. "We're pleased to give them access to a truly professional-grade portfolio management tool with plenty of firepower as they wrap up their year-end reviews. These new features made possible by Portfolio Director 8.0 Desktop are yet another step in giving our clients greater visibility into their ongoing investment success, helping them to make informed decisions about their equity and options trading."

Anyone looking for a good basic portfolio management and reporting package that won't break the bank should take Portfolio Director Desktop for a test drive.
With Portfolio Director 8.0 Desktop, TradeKing clients can benefit from features including:


Time Weighted Returns - An easy to understand performance report based on Time Weighted Returns shows TradeKing clients at-a-glance how well their portfolio is performing over any timeframe, or against any benchmark, the client chooses.
Asset Allocation - A flexible asset allocation that displays allocation by symbol, investment type, Morningstar Category, or a client's own custom classifications.
Portfolio Rebalancing: Clients can create a model portfolio to know when their portfolio is out of balance and make re-balancing their holdings a snap. The feature even recommends the number of shares to adjust.
Flexible Reports - Clients can create their own spreadsheet-style reports with their selection of columns and headers. Portfolio Director features many reports from which to choose and more than 100 different fields, so clients can tailor reports based on their specific needs. For instance, TradeKing clients can track their stock option strategies (e.g., Covered Calls, Bull Put Spreads) and see the true cost basis, or view the profitability of trading systems using the trade entry/exit notations.
Tax Gain/Loss - Clients can run reports showing their taxable gain / loss against the original purchase price of a stock, including date purchased and sold.
Portfolio Benchmarks - Clients can benchmark their individual portfolios against a number of metrics, including the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average.


Sources

http://www.ip97.com/online_broker_tradeking_launches_with_internet_s_lowest_bjjf.aspx
http://blogs.zdnet.com/micro-markets/?p=462
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2008/2/prweb697373.htm