Spotlight: Study Finds Broker Sites Not Always Responsive

Although several brokerage firms have recently ventured onto the Internet, some either ignore or don’t respond completely to requests for information from potential customers, according to a study by Prophet, a San Francisco-based consulting firm. Prophet sent 10 messages asking for information on setting up an account to each of eight firms, including Merrill Lynch, PaineWebber and Smith Barney. The firms didn’t respond, on average, to 37% of the inquiries, the survey found.