E-trade: More than trading

At a time when online brokerages are hot, E-Trade Group Inc. is lighting up the Internet as one of the hottest. But E-Trade hasn't stopped at online trading: It's also competing with financial portals such as MSN.com and Finance.yahoo.com and will soon offer online banking services. The future holds even bigger plans for the company, including an initiative to integrate E-Trade services and products into media outside the Web, including wireless and interactive television.

"Eventually, we want people to be able to access E-Trade at their convenience on whatever kind of device they choose," says Debra Chrapaty, chief media officer for E-Trade, ranked No. 5 on InformationWeek's E-Business 100 list. "Me best never rest; we've got to be smarter and faster than the competition."

On the portal front, E-Trade offers customers financial information and provides a launching pad for online shopping, discussion groups, and chat rooms. "We want to be in your home; the center of your financial life" Chrapaty says.

Still, E-Trade is not as comprehensive as other portal sites, such as Finance.yahoo.com. 'Many financial sites have portal envy," says Bill Doyle, research director of online financial services at Forrester Research, an IT advisory firm. "It's a distraction for E-Trade right now. But they have been trying new stuff out, and for that I give them a lot of credit." Doyle says that while...