Destination E*Trade, the financial services portal that analysts believe is the company’s best hope in the long term, will not be launched next week as planned. The site has been held over until at least September, according to the Industry Standard. Destination E*Trade was demonstrated in June and is now in beta testing with 400,000 members. It replaces E*Trade’s existing subscription model with more open public access and options to purchase in-depth research. Officials say the site needs further testing and polishing, hence the delay. E*Trade was an early leader in online brokerages, becoming America Online’s service provider in 1992, but in subsequent years web-based newcomers Ameritrade and Suretrade undercut E*Trade’s prices. The market now largely belongs to discount brokerage Charles Schwab. The Standard concludes that E*Trade will have to hustle to catch up.
