To strengthen its online presence. Fidelity has walk-in service center branches, but it
relies primarily on the telephone for interacting with investors. Charles Schwab has
investment centers around the country as an integral part of its online strategy. Pure online banks and brokerages cannot provide customers with some services that still
require a face-to-face interaction.
Financial Portals and Account Aggregators
Financial portals are sites that provide consumers with comparison shopping ser- financial portals
Vices, independent financial advice, and financial planning. Independent portals do sites that provide
Not themselves offer financial services, but act as steering mechanisms to online consumers with
Providers. They generate revenue from advertising, referral fees, and subscription comparison shopping
Fees. For example, yahoo’s financial portal, yahoo finance, offers consumers the ability services, independent
To track their stock portfolio, market overviews. Real-time stock quotes, news, financial financial advice, and
Advice, and streaming video interviews with financial leaders. Other independent financial planning
Financial portals include Intuit’s Quicken, MSN’s MSN Money, and CNNmoney. A host
Of financial portal sites have sprung up to help consumers with financial management
And planning such as Mint (owned by Quicken), SmartPiggy, and Credit Karma.