__ Charles Schwab is still a geek. __
__ Over the past quarter century, no one has done more to upend the financial services industry than Charles Schwab, and no established brokerage firm has more eagerly embraced the Net than Charles Schwab & Co. Today, Schwab runs 12 mainframes and 600 servers and plans to deploy IBM's Geographically Dispersed Parallel Sysplex technology - two synchronized mainframes situated 15 miles apart that cover for each other. Schwab likes to say that his brokerage "has always thought of itself as a technology company within the financial services business." __
Wired: What do you think of the E*Trade billboard campaign that asks, "If your broker's so great, how come he still has to work?"
Schwab: Frankly, that's a smart-ass maligning of the world of investors - the ad is an affront to a lot of serious people out there who are trying to help customers. E*Trade doesn't have all the answers - and it never will.
How do daytraders and Web-based trading impact the market in general?
I don't think daytrading has huge implications for the general market. It has more implications for the individuals who are caught up in this fever, but hyperactivity among individuals comes and goes.
But will daytraders become more of a force?
I don't think so. I've yet to meet anybody who's been successful daytrading over a couple of years. It's all about entertainment.
Any notable examples from history?
In 1961 every human being in the United States was projected to spend at least two hours a day bowling, and as a consequence, the stocks that were going up leaps and bounds were the bowling companies. The guys that made bowling balls, bowling shoes, bowling socks, bowling uniforms, bowling alleys - and, of course, the people who owned the bowling alleys. Well, now we can say that was crazy. A fraction of the people bowled, but not every human being bowled, so the projections were incorrect and consequently the stocks collapsed.
So the Web is like bowling?
The rule would be, Don't put all your eggs in a bowling company in 1961! Or, Don't put all your eggs in a single area today. Diversify.
Describe the future of Schwab.com.
We'll have three-dimensional customization. It will be audiovisual, it will be organized, it will be whatever way you want it. For me, I'll fire up my computer and I'll step into my virtual office, and I will know where every aspect of my financial life is on the screen. This compartment will be my stocks and bonds. I might want to drill down for in-depth information about a particular company. I might want to hear the CFO's last speech at the Analysts Society in New York. I can pull up my bank screen and everything will be there. Bills presentment will be there. I'll check each one; it will reconcile at the same time.
You've started offering advisory services, such as research, like the more traditional financial services companies.
We've been helping people with advice for a very long time. We're just doing more of it.
Is that the company's core competency?
I'm going to let the marketplace judge that.
Do you feel comfortable with your "visionary" label?
I don't walk around and say I'm a visionary. I think vision is all about understanding and reading. I have a complete and thorough understanding of what my customers will like, because I am that person, that investor.
