| 19 May 2010

We're still getting over the shock and awe of E*TRADE's announced, which we reported here. (Sorry to steal your thunder, optionsXpress.) But it does put the optionsXpress (OXPS) monthly numbers in perspective. The two seem to be in sync, which is interesting given the relatively flat new account growth we saw from Schwab (SCHW) last week.

E*TRADE Corporation (ETFC) reported a jump in trading activity (month-over-month) and a surge in new accounts. OptionsXpress, for its part saw a similar jump in activity. We surmised the if E*TRADE holds steady on the new account additions their cost per new account would be in the $718 range. OptionsXpress recently reported a cost per new account of $672 in Q1. You can see the results starting to line up. Let's take a look at the charts. 

OptionsXpress reported a 10% bump in trading activity month-over-month. This is similar to what we saw with E*TRADE.




New accounts for the firm grew by 3,200. This number also syncs wiht an increase in advertising spending that occured during Q1. It is typical for brokers to increase their advertising spend following the sluggish holiday periods.



Total assets for the firm also climbed nicely -- during a period when the general markets remained relatively flat. The additional assets are likely due to the new accounts funding.



These early April results bode well for brokers. We'll keep a close eye out for TD Ameritrade metrics to see if they can match the performance of the small guys or whether they fall in line with Schwab and just hold steady.