E*Trade and Charles Schwab Under StockCall Review: Rally in Equity Market

LONDON, February 7, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

Equity markets in the U.S. have risen to multi-year highs as concerns over the Eurozone debt crisis and the fiscal cliff issue eased. Improving global economic outlook has also lifted markets. All this has boosted retail investors' confidence, which is a good a sign for investment brokerages such as E*Trade Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: ETFC) and Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE: SCHW). StockCall has initiated full technical coverage on these two stocks. Register today and get access to these free reports at http://www.stockcall.com/registration  

Equity Markets Rally

All three benchmark indexes in the U.S. have kicked off 2013 on a strong note. The Dow Jones has been hovering around the psychological 14,000 mark, while the S&P 500 is above 1,500 level. Equity markets have been rallying amid improving outlook for the global economy and as concerns over the Eurozone have eased.

Financial markets in the Eurozone have also stabilized after the European Central Bank (ECB) took some aggressive measures last year. As equity markets continue to rise, retail investors' confidence has been boosted. For investment brokerages, this is excellent news.

In fact, despite the challenging environment in 2012, brokerages such as E*Trade Financial and Charles Schwab increased their client-base. Register with us today and get full access to the technical analysis on Charles Schwab at http://www.StockCall.com/SCHW020713.pdf

E*Trade Financial Looks to Build Momentum in 2013

Last month, E*Trade Financial CFO Matthew Audette, at the time of the release of the company's quarterly results, said that while 2012 was characterized by a retrenchment of the retail investor, the company's brokerage assets remained resilient. Audette noted that the company's net new assets and accounts surpassed 2011 levels as it continued to grow the franchise and made solid early progress in the retirement and investing segment. For the full report on E*Trade sign up at http://www.StockCall.com/ETFC020713.pdf

E*Trade Financial added 10,000 net new brokerage accounts in the fourth quarter of 2012. At the end of the fourth quarter, the company's customer accounts stood at 4.5 million, including 2.9 million brokerage accounts. For the full year 2012, the company's net new brokerage accounts totaled 120,000, compared with 99,000 in 2011. The company had $201 billion in customer assets at the end of the quarter.

E*Trade also improved its financial position, deleveraged its balance sheet and improved its Bank capital ratios.

Audette said that the company looks forward to building on the momentum seen in 2012 during 2013.

Charles Schwab's Client-Base Increases in 2012

Last month, Charles Schwab also reported an increase in its client-base in 2012. During 2012, the brokerage added 900,000 new brokerage accounts to its client-base, At the end of last year, Charles Schwab's brokerage accounts reached a record 8.8 million, up 3% on a year-over-year basis.

Charles Schwab CFO Joe Martinetto said last month that in addition to successfully growing client-base in 2012, the company made further progress in building non rate-sensitive sources of revenue, including an 11% increase in fees from rising balances in its propriety advice solutions. This resulted in increases in net interest revenue and asset management and administration fees despite further declines in interest rates, and relatively muted investor trading activity in 2012, added Martinetto.

Both E*Trade Financial and Charles Schwab have entered 2013 with improved momentum.

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