Press Room

BOCA RATON, Fla. – December 9, 2008 – Marking its third anniversary, online broker dealer TradeKing (www.tradeking.com) announced today it attracted a record number of new clients in 2008, as a growing roster of self-directed investors turned to TradeKing to take control of their trading and investment strategies. TradeKing now has more than 130,000 client accounts, a 116 percent increase over 2007 figures. More than 12,800 clients opened new accounts with TradeKing in October alone, a 300 percent increase over October 2007. 

Notably, 37 percent of new account holders since September indicated in a recent survey they had decided to manage part of their investible assets themselves for the first time, moving their funds away from a professionally-managed relationship. Sixty-eight percent of these new account holders also stated they were seeking to capitalize on opportunities after the market’s recent steep decline. 

For TradeKing, 2008 was a year distinguished by its ongoing emphasis on a “client-first” service model, continued innovation around integrating financial services with social media, industry-leadership in account security, and a host of new advanced trading tools and investment vehicles.  

“Now, more than ever, self-directed investors need to understand the right plays to run in this environment so they can seize control of their trading success,” said Don Montanaro, CEO of TradeKing. “In 2008, TradeKing continued to roll out new tools and enhancements in line with our commitment to making our clients confident in their investment strategies, regardless of market conditions. We remain extremely gratified by the trust our growing client base places in TradeKing, and it’s this trust that drives us to innovate year-over-year.”

Once again, 2008 included a number of accolades for TradeKing. In its annual survey of online brokers, SmartMoney, the Wall Street Journal magazine, listed TradeKing third overall behind two pricier industry stalwarts, E*Trade and Fidelity, and first in customer service ahead of all online brokers. TradeKing was the only firm to receive the maximum five-star rating for customer service. Similarly, TradeKing was called out for its highly responsive customer service and innovative Community features in Barron’s “Best Online Brokers,” as well as Kiplinger’s Personal Finance “Best of the Online Brokers” feature. TradeKing’s strength in customer service continues to be a draw for new clients; more than 13 percent of new clients reported turning to TradeKing after becoming dissatisfied with their previous online broker. 

TradeKing’s third anniversary year also marked the introduction of a number of new online tools and enhancements to help traders become more investment-savvy. 

Some of TradeKing’s most notable milestones and new offerings in 2008 included:

Social Media Tools

• Robust Growth in Social Media Tools and Interactions: A key benefit of being a TradeKing client is the immediate access all traders have to the firm’s ever-expanding arsenal of sophisticated social media tools. TradeKing continued its focus in 2008 on leading the industry in introducing new capabilities and offerings to help investors collaborate and share strategies to further enhance their trading success: 

·         New “All-Star Trades” Blog: TradeKing introduced its "All-Star Trades" blog, offering "color commentary" and daily insights from TradeKing and other experts on actual client trades, as they happen. Commentary by these professionals help TradeKing clients expand their knowledge of options trading and learn from one another’s trades in real-time with tips and insights from the financial world’s thought leaders. 

·         Microblogging Capabilities via TradeNotes: TradeKing also added more powerful views into trader rationale through Trade Notes. Trade Notes are brief comments attached directly to a specific trade, allowing investors to share the rationale with other TradeKing clients, as well as record the thinking behind their own investments in an online trading diary.

·         The TradeKing Leaderboard: Furthering TradeKing’s commitment to transparency, clients also benefitted from the ability to display (if they choose) their TradeKing account's investment performance along with their Certified Trades for fellow investors to see. TradeKing calculates and displays account performance for five- and 15-day, as well as one-,

three-, and six-month periods. This “Leaderboard” enables traders to easily see those investors who are posting big gains in all market conditions, interact with them, and even subscribe to see their public trade activity as it happens. 

Education

·         ONN.TV Content Sharing: To further educate investors on options as an investment strategy, TradeKing partnered with The Options News Network’s ONN.TV (www.onn.tv), to bring ONN.TV’s timely and informative options-focused video content directly onto the TradeKing site via a dedicated link called “Options T.V.”    Initial programming includes the popular show “Mad About Options,” an entertaining and high-energy roundtable that puts an options spin on Jim Cramer’s Mad Money stock pick “lightning round.” 

·         All-Star Webinars: TradeKing also launched a new “All-Star” webinar series. These webinars are designed to help investors of all levels improve their trading skills and understand how to diversify their investment strategies. The Webinars are free of charge and open to TradeKing clients, as well as other investors. 

Tools and Trading

• New Investment Vehicles: Fixed Return Options – TradeKing was among a select group of brokers to offer clients a groundbreaking new investment vehicle called Fixed Return Options (FROs). These binary options are a simpler way for investors to begin trading options without the confusing language and calculations typically associated with the options market. The FRO's unique "all or nothing" structure provides a straight-forward approach to options with a maximum risk of $100 per FRO contract. TradeKing CEO Don Montanaro played a significant role in the initial conception and subsequent development of the product.

• Industry-Leading Account Security - TradeKing launched an unprecedented line of defense against hackers, phishers and other online scams in 2008. TradeKing clients now benefit from a new log-in process featuring “multi-factor authentication” that acts, in essence, as a five-layer shield against online criminals. TradeKing was the first online brokerage to introduce this level of account security. 

• Expanded Selection of CDs and Treasuries – Responding to client interest in more conservative investment vehicles, TradeKing expanded the number of Certificates of Deposit (CDs) and Treasury securities available to its clients through one seamless online platform. TradeKing teamed with Knight BondPoint, a subsidiary of Knight Capital Group (NASDAQ: NITE) and a leading provider of electronic fixed income trading solutions, to give investors access to a network of over 200 dealers offering nearly 35,000 searchable and executable fixed income securities. For investors interested specifically in CDs, an inventory of between 250 and 400 new offerings each week will be available through 10 dealers.

• Enhanced Tax Reporting Capabilities - In its mission to make online investing more rewarding and less "taxing," TradeKing introduced sophisticated real-time, tax-based investment decision support from Scivantage Maxit™ to help both options and equities traders minimize tax liabilities and increase after-tax performance. Maxit is one of the latest and most comprehensive, automated cost basis and portfolio tax reporting systems available, delivering a full range of tools to help TradeKing clients track capital gains, generate Schedule D for tax filing and improve investment tax decisions. Maxit was made available to TradeKing clients free of charge.

About TradeKing

TradeKing (http://www.tradeking.com) is a nationally licensed online broker dealer offering simple, low flat fees ($4.95 per trade plus $.65 per option contract) with no hidden fees or account minimums¹. A pioneer in integrating new social media as part of its innovative online equities, options and fixed-income trading platform, TradeKing has received multiple four-star ratings from top industry sources and was recently rated number one in customer service by SmartMoney Magazine, ahead of E*Trade, Scottrade, Fidelity, Charles Schwab and TD Ameritrade. (2008 Broker Survey)².

Member FINRA/SIPC.

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(1)  (Please see www.tradeking.com/PrivateView/services/Services/commissions.tmpl for more details on trade commissions for low priced stock, bonds, mutual funds and other securities).

(2) SmartMoney is a joint publishing venture of Dow Jones & Company, Inc. and Hearst Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.

TradeKing provides self-directed investors with discount brokerage services, and does not make recommendations or offer investment, financial, legal or tax advice.

Online trading system response and access times may vary due to market conditions, system performance, and other factors.

Options involve risk and are not suitable for all investors.
Please read Characteristics and Risks of Standardized Options available at www.tradeking.com/ODD.