CHICAGO, June 8, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Continuing to improve on the customer experience for self-directed investors, optionsXpress Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: OXPS) today revealed a number of enhancements to its award-winning trading platform for stocks, options, futures, ETFs, bonds and mutual funds.
XpressRouter(R) Technology
Every eligible trade at optionsXpress is routed through optionXpress' proprietary XpressRouter(R), which seeks out the best possible price for the order. This means that, when possible, the XpressRouter(R) will identify opportunities to either buy at a price that is lower than the current NBBO (National Best Bid and Offer) or sell at a price higher than the NBBO.
Additionally, XpressRouter(R) technology works through multiple channels (both exchanges and market makers) to increase the likelihood that limit offers that are between the current bid and ask are accepted. As traders know, increasing liquidity by improving access to the market is incredibly valuable, helping to potentially sell higher and buy lower, improving the profitability of a trade.
In many cases, the savings from XpressRouter(R) and the effective use of limit orders more than offset the total cost of commissions on a trade, giving optionsXpress customers an edge.
"We work hard to give customers more value and convenience in everything we do," says David Fisher, Chief Executive Officer of optionsXpress Holdings, Inc. "A concrete example of that is the price improvement of our XpressRouter(R) technology. We save our customers millions of dollars each year and this new technology highlights those savings for our customers."
Improvements to myOX
The recently unveiled myOX modular portal continues to be developed at a rapid pace, giving customers even more flexibility and control in customizing their own trading environments. Driven by a record setting amount of positive feedback, new features and functionality have been added including:
-- Holders of multiple accounts can now toggle between accounts
quickly in myOX with a new dropdown box.
-- A new Message Center module has been added to the myOX main page
for a quick view of trade confirmation and account information
messages.
-- Navigation between individual myOX modules and the rest of the
website has been simplified and made more intuitive.
-- Auto-refresh functionality is available for your entire myOX
page or within the individual modules.
-- Several myOX module windows can be expanded to a full-page view
to eliminate the need for scrolling.
-- Users can now set myOX as their default start page at
optionsXpress.
Graphical Trading Patterns
We've given a facelift to our popular trading tool that allows users to view what other like-minded investors are trading. Investors can now see a simplified graphical view of the securities that are traded across the optionsXpress universe.
Money Matters
Customers can simplify the flow of money out of their accounts with the new Periodic Request Manager, which allows customers to automatically have a check or ACH payment sent to them on a regular predetermined basis.
Wish List
Several notable value-added enhancements to the optionsXpress site stem directly from customer-submitted "Wish List" items including:
-- A convenient new link to Time & Sales data on the futures quote
detail pages can help traders get a better feel for what's
happening in the futures and futures options markets with quick
access to updated information on trade times, prices and
quantities.
-- A "View Positions" link has been added to the Saved Orders page,
while a "Saved Orders" link is now included on the Positions
page, making it easier to quickly jump between these two pages.
-- All queries for securities that correspond to customer-selected
criteria on the popular Dragon tool can now be filtered to
exclude ETF and index options from the search results.
About optionsXpress Holdings, Inc.
optionsXpress Holdings, Inc., a pioneer in equity options and futures trading, offers an innovative suite of online brokerage services for investor education, strategy evaluation and trade execution. optionsXpress Holdings subsidiaries include optionsXpress, Inc., a retail online brokerage specializing in options and futures, brokersXpress, LLC, an online trading and reporting platform for independent investment professionals, Open E Cry, LLC, an innovative futures broker offering direct access futures trading for high volume commodities and futures traders through its proprietary software platform, and Optionetics, Inc, a leading provider of investment education services, including live seminars, proprietary software analytics, online and offline educational products and individual coaching to over 40,000 potential investors annually in 12 countries.
(1) "Best Online Broker" 3/6/06, 3/7/05, 3/8/04, 3/10/03, and one of Barron's Best Online Brokers 3/3/07 based on: Trade Experience; Trade Tech; Usability; Offerings; Research; Portfolio Analysis; Customer Service/Access; Costs. Barron's is a registered trademark of Dow Jones & Company (C) 2008.
(2) "Best Online Broker" by Kiplinger's 7/06, based on: Commissions/Fees; Executions; Margin Rates; Interest on Cash; Maximum Fund Transaction Fee; Responsiveness/Broker Knowledge; Research; Web Site; Cost-Basis Data; Conduct. Kiplinger's is a trademark of The Kiplinger Washington Editors, Inc. (C) 2008.
Online trading has inherent risk due to system response and access times that may vary due to market conditions, system performance, volume and other factors. An investor should understand these and additional risks before trading. optionsXpress, Inc. makes no investment recommendations and does not provide financial, tax or legal advice. Content and tools are provided for educational and informational purposes only. Products and services intended for U.S. customers and may not be available or offered in other jurisdictions.
Member FINRA, SIPC, CBOE, ISE, BOX, ArcaEx, PHLX and NFA.