I just received a notification email that my online brokerage Sharebuilder.com has been acquired by ING Direct as of November 15. It will be interesting to see what emerges as Sharebuilder and ING Direct merge systems. My hope of hopes is that Sharebuilder will either retain its already low trading fees or reduce them further. I'm sure one can also expect a slew of new and innovative products and services as a result of this merger. That being said, however, it is important to remember the basics of regular saving and investing as a foundation for sound personal finance. Developing these habits in general is far more important than the particular broker one uses for his/her Roth IRA or 401(k).
Monday, November 19, 2007
Newsflash: Sharebuilder Acquired by ING Direct
Posted by Zachary at 5:56 PM
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1 Comment:
The reality of mergers and acquisitions is that it takes a really long time for companies to re-focus on their customers. They need to deal with merging systems, customer service teams and so forth. Not to mention the fact that many times a huge number of jobs is shed in the process.
When the acquisition is complete, the end result is rarely in favor of the customer. Companies merger to reduce competition and to gain operational advantages, rarely to provide better service to their customers (even thought they might SAY different).
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