Online Broker Continues Bricks and Mortar Initiative With New Manhattan Investment Centre

Philip Morton, InvestorsOffshore.com

16 March 2001

CSFBdirect, the online brokerage service of Credit Suisse First Boston, this week opened the company's latest Investment Centre in Manhattan, New York. It marks a move by the brokerage away from purely Internet-based services towards providing investors with a more personal touch.

The Investment Centre, which was launched with a client reception, product demonstrations, and a public open house at the office on the corner of 49th Street, aims to support self-directed investors seeking higher levels of personal service through the convenience of a local physical office. It offers computers for customer use, monitors displaying the CSFBdirect website, televised financial news broadcasts, private conference rooms, and a seminar area.

Commenting on the establishment of the Investment Centre, Blake Darcy, Chief Executive Officer of CSFBdirect, said: 'CSFBdirect is highly regarded for its superior customer service. This branch office marks the beginning of a new level of service that we will provide our clients, adding the convenience of a local presence where they may conduct business on a more personal level.'

Mr. Darcy also said that CSFBdirect plans to open a number of additional Investment Centres throughout the US in the coming months. Citing the brokerage's evolution from "clicks to bricks", he said: 'The lines between traditional and online brokerage continue to blur. Self-directed investors are seeking higher levels of personal service and the convenience of a local physical site, where they can deposit securities or funds and find assistance.'

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