You have 2 opportunities (one in San Diego and the other in Phoenix) to get some great education and learn not only about how to use Trade-Ideas more effectively with your trading plan, but you’ll also have the opportunity to see how our latest tool, the Automated Trading Bot, automates a trading plan with OptionsXpress.

1. February 23, 2008 9:00 am – 4:15 pm Hilton San Diego Mission Valley
   (619) 543-9000 901 Camino Del Rio South, San Diego CA 92108 (FREE workshop)
2. March 14-16, 2008 Arizona Grand Resort (888) 216-4837
   7777 South Pointe Parkway, Phoenix AZ 85044 (fee to attend)

Smaller, Frequent Broker Events Offer More Education than the Big Tent Expos: A Trend That Will Stick?

You and I, dear reader, are in the middle of some interesting, exciting trends affecting ongoing education, good technology and good partnerships.

We are seeing a move away from the big trader’s conferences where every large and small broker meets under the tent, throws a booth together, and shouts/hollers/grabs for your attention. In its place are more organized, more educational settings sponsored by the individual brokers. In these settings the brokerage invites its best customers and interested potential customers for a half-day of deeper dives into their offerings, their tools, (and in the case of Trade-Ideas) their partners who offer powerful ways to improve trading and service capabilities.

More and more brokerages are realizing that the best thinking on how to improve their platforms and tools is NOT within the 4 walls of their development team. The best are embracing what smaller, nimbler, more innovative firms are creating and actively reaching out to integrate their capabilities. Let me just say that our “engagement calendar” has been busy lately.

The Brokers Drinking the Right Kool-Aid

E*Trade has done this for awhile; Scottrade did several of these last year and with an overwhelming response are planning many more this year; TD AMERITRADE has begun scheduling theirs for 2008; and OptionsXpress’ conferences are already upon us. Want to attend but you are not a customer? Any branch manager or customer service representative always wants a potential new customer. Simply tell them your account balance and ask for an invitation.

My Take

I think this trend of more educational settings will stick because the brokerage ultimately gets to control the message more effectively than under a tent with all the competitors shouting in the background. Additionally these smaller brokerage events are more numerous and spread out around the country. One of these will very likely be within 100 miles of you. This may or may not mean the death of these Trader’s Expos like the one in New York later this month, but that’s not where the best value for one’s time may be.

Here is the link again to the first event in San Diego: https://trade-ideas.54solutions.com/optionsXpress/SD_Workshop.html