Progress on online stock markets

Anyone know how secure this company's web servers, etcetera are?
	-Allen

>   Avis

>                 E-TRADE WANTS TO SELL IPOS OVER THE INTERNET

>     Copyright &copy 1996 Nando.net
>     Copyright &copy 1996 San Francisco Examiner
      
>   SAN FRANCISCO (Aug 1, 1996 00:05 a.m. EDT) -- E-Trade Securities Inc.,
>   the Palo Alto, Calif., company that sells stocks over the Internet,
>   has asked the National Association of Securities Dealers for
>   permission to form an investment banking division to sell initial
>   public offerings over the Internet.
   
>   E-Trade executive vice president David Traversi said if the NASD
>   approves his request, the company would start bringing small firms
>   public and would also seek to co-underwrite big deals brought by large
>   investment banks.
   
>   Traversi said E-Trade's two-fold objective aimed to create a new way
>   to bring small companies public and give small investors a chance to
>   buy new stock issues that usually get bought by institutional
>   investors.

[...]

>   Traversi said E-Trade would also try to get listed as a co-underwriter
>   for big IPOs, like last September's Netscape offering. In the past,
>   small investors have complained that such big deals are sold to
>   institutional investors, who rake in huge profits before small
>   investors get a crack at the offering. To offer such deals online,
>   however, E-Trade would have to get the approval of the lead
>   underwriter on each offering.
   
>   "Right now, without naming names, there are large investment firms
>   that have indicated an interest in having us as a co-manager" of their
>   IPOs, Traversi said.
   
>   But before E-Trade can do anything more, its pending application to
>   form an investment bank has to be approved by the NASD, which
>   regulates small securities dealers. Traversi said he expected NASD
>   approval this fall.