Scottrade celebrates opening of 300th local branch office in Lancaster, Pa.

Fast-growing online brokerage opens offices in cities large and small to better reach customers



St. Louis,– Scottrade, a leading branch-supported online investment firm, announces the opening of its 300th branch office today, in Lancaster, Pa. Lancaster, the 99th-largest metropolitan area in the U.S., is the ideal location for Scottrade’s 300th office as the firm continues to expand into smaller U.S. cities to meet customer demand.



“This office will be typical of all of Scottrade’s offices – easily accessible and staffed with local brokers willing to help customers with any questions they may have,” said Jason Weyforth, branch manager of the new office. “I look forward to assisting customers in Lancaster with all of their online investing needs.”



As Scottrade has grown its branch network, it has opened offices in large, metropolitan areas as well as in small and medium-sized communities. Branch locations are chosen based on a variety of factors, including customer demand and the population and affluence of a particular community. Scottrade opened its 100th office in September 1999 in Pasadena, Calif. On Feb. 3, 2004, Scottrade opened its 199th, 200th and 201st offices in Aventura, Fla., Austin, Texas, and Charlotte, N.C.



“Scottrade has focused on making online trading easy and accessible for our customers,” said Scottrade President and CEO Rodger Riney. “We will continue to focus on providing an exceptional customer experience with tools and research to help them make better investing decisions – in Lancaster and across the country.”



The Lancaster office is located at 1935 Fruitville Pike. Scottrade currently has branch offices in 47 states and expects to open about 20 additional offices by the end of 2007. New branch offices are planned for cities like Baltimore, as well as in smaller communities, such as Canton, Ohio.



“The Internet has made it faster and easier to place trades, but investors still want local branch offices where they can call or stop in if they have questions about opening an account or using our trading systems,” Riney said. “Building branch offices across the country is a major investment for Scottrade, but the level of service we are providing has built customer loyalty and brought us new customers. We look forward to the same thing happening in Lancaster.”