Online broker E*Trade Group
Inc. Wednesday expanded its global presence with the launch of CPR-E*Trade, which is targeting French investors.
CPR-E*Trade joins affiliates in Canada, Australia and Japan as part of the
company’s strategy to offer consumer investment services worldwide.
E*Trade is partnering with CPR, an
investment and asset management bank in France already offering online
investing services. Using the new site, investors can place domestic
(French) stock, bond and mutual
fund transactions online, as well as trade through the Minitel and Kiosque
services and research stock information.
With CPR-E*Trade, the company hopes to bolster French online investment,
which is lagging behind other European countries, said Judy Balint, E*Trade International’s president and chief operating officer.
“Of the estimated 600,000 active individual investors in France, only 12
percent conduct transactions over
the Internet,” Balint said.
“We believe the financial products and services,
including research tools, that are
offered on the CPR-E*Trade Web site will encourage a greater number of
French consumers to take control of their investing decisions online.”
“As acceptance of the Internet grows among French consumers, we believe an
increasing number of consumers will take advantage of the power and
convenience of investing online
through CPR-E*TRADE,” added Guillaume de Charry, director of CPR-E*Trade.