Lebanese Broker Offers Online Trading In US Equities

Philip Morton, Investors Offshore.com

05 March 2001

Lebanese brokerage firm Financial Funds Advisors is claiming to be the country's first financial institution to offer real-time online stock trading to its customers. Its Internet brokerage, FFA Direct, has selected Pershing, a division of US broking giant Credit Suisse First Boston, to act as the clearing firm, receiving all cash deposits made by FFA Direct’s clients, executing customer orders and generating monthly statements.

At www.ffadirect.com, clients can buy and sell stocks, although at present these are limited to US stocks only. However, FFA chairman Jean Riachi said: 'We hope in the future to have on-line access to European markets.' Riachi added that he hoped that the new service would increase the company's customer base of about 800 by another 200 in the near future.

The move reflects the trend among Lebanese investors to ignore the Beirut stock exchange and instead focus on major equity markets overseas. Local banks and brokerages do millions of dollars worth of foreign stock trades a day, while trading on the Beirut bourse lags way behind.

In addition to trading in stocks, FFA's online clients will be able to check their account balance, portfolio, and transactions history. The status of each order can be monitored online, 24 hours a day. FFA Direct also provides access to Reuters news regarding stock market news, initial public offerings and so forth. Moreover, the site offers free investment ideas and opinions from top researchers, a service previously restricted to investment professionals.

FFA Direct charges a flat-rate commission for trades of up to 2,000 shares and a variable commission for larger amounts. Online clients need a minimum of US$500 to open an account.

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