In Brief: Baby Boomers Flock to On-Line Investing

The number of investors trading securities on-line in the United States jumped 30%, to 3.5 million, during the second half of 1999, according to a recent study.

And the new entrants were primarily baby boomers with investment portfolios exceeding $100,000, according to the survey by J.D. Power and Associates.

That could be good news for banks that offer on-line trading, said Andrew March, director of financial services for the Agoura Hills, Calif., consulting firm. "That's the market they target," he said.

The study also found that investors are evenly split between trading through traditional full-service shops that offer on-line transactions and brokers whose primary business is on-line trading.

The survey was done in early January; it canvassed 6,704 on-line investors nationwide.

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