E*TRADE Group Inc.
Monday acquired ClearStation Inc., a financial Web community.
ClearStation allows members to set up stock portfolios and share those with other community members. The site also carries news and has a number of links to educational resources.
Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
E*TRADE will operate ClearStation as a subsidiary and an
independent web site.
The stock still needs to be approved by E*Trade shareholders. The deal is expected to be finalized later this month.
San Francisco-based ClearStation’s Web site launched in July of last year
and has roughly
90,000 registered members, according to company estimates. The site is free,
supported by ads, and provides a proprietary three-point approach to
investing, combining technical analysis with fundamental analysis and
community discussions. The site’s tools include an automated trend
detection system which scans the market during the day, creating a dynamic
lists of stocks that enter price action trends.
“Our goal is to become a premier digital financial
media company,” said Christos M. Cotsakos, E*TRADE Group’s chairman and chief executive
officer.
“As individual investors increasingly move to investing online, their
power has become a new force in today’s global financial markets. We view
ClearStation, with its high-caliber member base, as another way for E*TRADE to
unite this important shared interest group,” Cotsakos said.
“Our combination with E*TRADE provides ClearStation with
tremendous brand association and the potential to reach a global base of
independent investors who turn to E*TRADE and its international affiliates for financial content and services,” said Kris Skrinak, Clearstation’s president and chief executive officer.