Question-and-Answer Session
Operator
(Operator Instructions) Our first question comes from Prashant Bhatia with Citigroup.
Prashant Bhatia - Citigroup Global Markets
On the client trades, the 433,000 so far in October, do you have a feel for how many are buy trades versus sell trades, and maybe how that ratio relates to say the past year or so?
William J. Gerber
You know, I don’t off the top of my head. I have teasingly said we’ve had 12 buy trades and 432,988 sell trades but I don’t have that specific number.
Prashant Bhatia - Citigroup Global Markets
Okay. Also on the organic growth side, you are really seeing a lot of traction there. Has there been any change in terms of transfers of accounts from full service firms? Are you seeing any change in the composition of what is driving the net new assets?
Fredric J. Tomczyk
What we have seen in the last probably six to eight weeks has been -- you know, we typically get net new assets from a number of places and typically we are a winner from the full service brokerage firms and we definitely have seen a pick-up in that in the last four or five weeks.
Prashant Bhatia - Citigroup Global Markets
Okay. And then I guess no better time to be cash rich with a clean balance sheet. I guess one, will you accelerate any kind of investment initiatives as a result of the environment? And two, on the acquisition side, we are seeing fed assisted and FDIC assisted deals -- is that something that would interest you or are you having any discussions around that?
Fredric J. Tomczyk
First off, I think the capital markets are very strange, so building cash right now is exactly the right thing to do. We are investing. The three areas where we will focus our investments for the most part looking forward beyond what we have already done but well within our current expense levels will be in increasing the size of our sales force, in our education and risk management tools and techniques for the traders, and increasingly in our technology operations to position us for the kind of volumes we are seeing and expect to see. Clearly we are seeing very high volumes and we are going to continue to invest there.
Prashant Bhatia - Citigroup Global Markets
Okay.
Fredric J. Tomczyk
With respect to acquisitions, we will always do what we think is right for our organization and any opportunity that comes along that makes sense for our shareholders, we will work very hard to do that.
- To read the full transcript on Seeking Alpha, click here »







