The after-hours party is picking up steam. PaineWebber will launch its after-hours trading service first quarter in 2000. And on its heels is Merrill Lynch, which also plans to join in what Salomon Smith Barney started in October.
The details of PaineWebber's service haven't been decided, but the word from several PaineWebber brokers is that the new service will be limited to larger Nasdaq issues. A firm spokesperson would not confirm that information.
"I'm hearing that when you're trading [after hours], you have to have a manager there with you, which is absurd," says one PaineWebber rep. "A lot of brokers are wondering how they're going to handle that. ... It's very confusing. I don't think it will fly."
The PaineWebber spokesperson was unfamiliar with the rumored manager oversight policy, but did say the service would likely be similar to SSB's in that clients go through a centralized order desk with a toll-free number.
"We haven't gotten into the specifics yet," the spokesperson says. "We have some issues that still need to be worked out."
The trading platform that PaineWebber will use was established by RediBook, which is also providing electronic communication service for after-hours trading for Charles Schwab and Fidelity Investments.--Rick Weinberg