Consolidation and access to multiple asset classes is all the rage at the exchanges and may prove to be the next big thing at the brokerage level.
In late January, optionsXpress Holdings Inc., owner of equity options brokerage firm optionsXpress, bought XpressTrade LLC, the futures and options brokerage, for $37 million. Shares of optionsXpress jumped 6% to $23.80 following the announcement.
“We think that the lines are going to increasingly blur between these different asset classes,” says Dan O’Neil, principal of XpressTrade LLC. “People want to have a well-diversified portfolio and they want access to the full suite of products. So we are trying to give them what we think they want.”
One week later, optionsXpress reported $186.9 million in annual revenue, an increase of 45% over last year, and a net income of $71.7 million, or $1.15 per diluted share.
By Chris McMahon
