Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ: INTU) today became the first company to offer an "any time, any where" Web-based portfolio that allows investors to directly import account information from participating brokerage and mutual fund companies, into their Quicken.com portfolios. Clients of Waterhouse, PaineWebber , DLJ Direct and Discover Brokerage will be among the first to take advantage of this new service. By providing investment import capabilities and online access to their portfolios through the industry's leading financial web site, financial services' firms are deploying the technology that permits their clients to easily set-up and manage their portfolios from any computer with a single click of their mouse.
"For the first time, investors will have 'any time, any where' access to their financial portfolios, allowing brokerage and mutual fund companies to provide an even higher level of service and accessibility to their investment customers,"" said Mark Goines, senior vice president of Intuit's consumer division. "With this new capability, Intuit demonstrates its continuing success in connecting consumers through Quicken.com to the nation's leading brokerage firms."
Online investment portfolio management technology enables investors to create or update their holdings in a Quicken.com portfolio by importing current market data, including news and quotes, from participating investment accounts. Users also have the option of manually entering information on their holdings or creating a "watchlist," allowing them to easily manage their portfolio and quickly respond to market events. Because Quicken.com portfolios are Web-based and stored centrally, investors can securely access their account data from any computer with an Internet connection.
"Waterhouse customers gain a convenient new ability to closely track, update and manage their investment portfolios," said Marc Beerman, senior vice president of Waterhouse Securities. "And because the data import service is free and the portfolio service on Quicken.com is free, this is yet another way we help our customers manage their money successfully."
"Discover Brokerage customers recognize the importance of real-time information when it comes to managing their portfolios. This agreement with Quicken.com provides us with another platform by which to offer this highly-valued service," said Tom O'Connell, executive vice president of Discover Brokerage. "Our customers will now be able to import real-time account information into their Quicken.com portfolio to create an up-to-the-minute picture of their assets."
"As clients rely more heavily on the Internet as a communications tool, they increasingly are demanding more timely access to their account information," said Thomas K. McCarthy, PaineWebber's vice president of electronic marketing. "This capability allows us to strengthen further the relationships between PaineWebber clients and their financial advisors, by allowing clients to view their account holdings through Quicken's Web site. It is part of the firm's ongoing commitment to providing customized online services to clients."
Open Financial Exchange (OFX) enables the investment account data import technology that makes online portfolio management possible. Using the OFX specification makes it very easy for investment firms currently connecting to Quicken to connect to Quicken.com.
"DLJ Direct is committed to providing our clients with superior resources and services," said Blake Darcy, Chief Executive Officer of DLJ Direct. "This new Internet based service allows DLJ Direct investors to automatically import and update portfolio information into Quicken.com, making it easier for them to manage their financial lives."
Intuit's online investment portfolio management service and the account data information that reside on Quicken.com are highly secure. Brokerage account information is encrypted and stored securely on Intuit's state of the art servers, behind multiple firewalls. The data from participating financial institutions is transmitted using SSL encryption.
Intuit is focused on delivering interactive financial tools that help financial institutions better serve their existing customers, while also helping them acquire new ones. The company is already working with more than 15 of the nation's top financial investment companies, including Accutrade, American Century Investments, Ameritrade, Charles Schwab & Co., Inc., Datek Online, Discover Brokerage Direct, E Direct, E*TRADE, Fidelity Investments, First Security Investments, JC Bradford & Co., JP Morgan, Salomon Smith Barney and T. Rowe Price.
