Last year Sue Violi of Omaha joined the revolution. She is one of about 10 million people buying and selling their stocks online.
[Sue Violi] I should have bought there but didn't. Makes me crabby.
She isn't as crabby as often as she used to be. After all, the goal of taking control of her family's investments was to make more money.
[Sue] Yes, because I wasn't paying attention before. I would just look at the monthly statement and figure my husband will take care of it. Well, now I pay attention.
She chose Ameritrade as her online brokerage for one main reason. It is a hometown business and by far Nebraska's most successful internet-based business. It literally came out of nowhere.
We're riding a rocketship. This business is going to continue to grow between now and 2004, 2005 at the same pace.
The managers of Ameritrade look back at the past seven years amazed at the growth but only partly surprised by their success. Thomas Lewis Jr. is one of two chief executive officers with the company.
[Thomas Lewis Jr.] To be in a business that is at the intersection of e-commerce and financial services that's transforming an industry, that's growing at 100% per year and a company that has the best economics in the business with people who are absolutely wonderful, dedicated to what they're doing is a very exciting environment to be in and we're having a lot of fun and we're doing well at it.
Jack McDonald is the other C.E.O.
[Jack McDonald] I think we're at the right place at the right time with the right product with very good marketing.
The right place is the internet. The right time was the stock market's bull run. At the beginning of 1997 the Dow was under 7000 points. It surged past 9000 for the first time in '98 and ended last year at over 11000. Ameritrade handled about 6,500 stock trades on an average day back in 1997. In a matter of months, the number of customers and the number of stock trades they executed doubled and then they doubled again. 81,000 trades is an average day now.
How about if we just do some quick research.
While the internet has made it easy to trade stocks, the force driving individual investors may be information, research that once was only convenient to professional brokers.
[Michael Anderson, Ameritrade President] They have historically wanted more information in a more timely manner to help take control and power over their investments but were unable to.
Ameritrade's president Michael Anderson believes online brokers made it easy for people to both trade and do fairly sophisticated analysis of stocks and mutual funds.
[Anderson] Well, I think it's pretty straight forward. Once you click on the trade button, it brings you to a straight forward screen.
[Sue] It's very easy and they sort of-- they walk you through it.
You can see all you would have to do is click whether you want to buy or sell this stock and we will click on buy in this case.
[Sue] You buy, sell, click and you're done. It's sort of scary that it's so easy.
What is a limit order? What is a stop limit? It would give them the opportunity to go ahead and get some education, if you will, if they're confused about any of the terminology.
[Sue] It does seem like a game because it doesn't seem real that you can do something with your money on the internet and just click a button and there it goes.
There is some interactivity to it that really allows you the opportunity to understand and have some fun with looking at it your own way, and I think that customization or specialization is what really makes it fun for a lot of people.
[Sue] It's all in my hands whether I make money or lose money, which right now it's ok. I'm not losing anything.
Looking to go from 1 1/8ths to 1 3/8ths. 1 3/8ths, yep. Thank you very much. Bye.
Ameritrade does have brokers on staff. For an additional charge, investors can get help and advice. Whether trades are in person or online, the basic corporate philosophy is the same.
[Anderson] Our goal is to be the largest provider of discount brokerage services to the individual in the world and it sounds kind of grandiose but we have beat every other expectation and goal we have ever had.
Ameritrade started as a deep discount brokerage that allowed customers to buy and sell their investments using a touch-tone phone. Ameritrade's founder, Joe Ricketts, thought investors were ready to get away from making their investments strictly tied to a stockbroker.
[Lewis] He is an innovator. The first to do touch-tone trading. Many, many firsts. The list goes on and on and on. So he adopted the internet and had the idea that this is going to be the wave of the future.
[Anderson] I think we actually missed it a little bit. I hate to say that, but we actually maybe didn't jump on the internet as quickly as we could have.
Michael Anderson thinks the wait was worth it.
[Anderson] Because it gave us an opportunity to study what was going to happen and become the internet because it didn't happen, if you will, immediately. It didn't happen overnight. But what now is now known as the internet, we had a chance to actually sit back and study a little bit.
Ameritrade did not succeed by plugging into the internet. It was what Joe Ricketts decided to do with the internet.
[Lewis] Not only did the company innovate with technology with the acceptance of the internet but the great innovation that the company had was Joe's concept of eight bucks a trade. That was an enormous breakthrough. This is the beginning of what we call the deep, deep discount brokerage business.
[Anderson] Joe picked eight dollars. He didn't ask the C.F.O. to run numbers. He didn't do any serious market analysis. He was looking at what the competitors offered, what we offered and he said you know what, eight bucks, that's a defendable price, nobody can beat us at eight bucks. The C.F.O.'s eyes got big and said, eight bucks? Our cost is X, how can we do that? Joe said, it's going to work.
[Lewis] It was so significantly different than what was available as a price point in brokerage that we saw a wave of business that caused the lights to dim in Omaha.
Two factors combined in Ameritrade's spectacular growth. The stock market's non-stop growth supplied the fuel. The fuse was lit by a now legendary advertising campaign.
Stewart, what are your plans for the future?
Well, I wouldn't mind living here.
No, what's your passion, Stewart?
I like to trade online. Have you every heard of Ameritrade?
Stewart, the gonzo Ameritrade pitchman, became a cult figure.
I don't want to beat the market. I want to grab it, sock it in the gut a couple of times, turn it upsidedown, hold it by the pants and shake 'em out until all the pockets are empty of all that spare change. Let's eat.
[McDonald] I think it's a very good example that appeals to multiple segments of the marketplace because on the one hand you have Stewart who is demonstrating how to trade online to Mr. P. and clearly, I think we would both agree that they're in different demographic groups.
You trade on Ameritrade?
Yes.
The rocket had also been lit on stock markets early last year. Ameritrade got more than it bargained for. There were people that simply could not process their orders on some days.
[McDonald] We had a few occasions where response time was slow and that was not acceptable. Consequently, we made considerable investments to ensure that that doesn't happen again.
Ok, everybody, let's square dance.
The legacy of Ameritrade's memorable advertising continues. Load the boat, you're doing fine. Research is free. Make that trade. Swing that girl, promenade. Circle up eight with a hoop and a holler. Each trade costs you just $8.
When a would be customer dials the 800 number to set up an account, the call is answered in a center in Bellevue, Nebraska. Anytime an ad appears on the cable finance channel, CNBC, the electronic board tracking incoming calls just lights up.
As long as the security is on like New York Stock Exchange or NASDAQ, they are available to you through the Ameritrade web site.
The projections for growth in the online trading business are staggering.
[Anderson] We're actually in a position where we're going to possibly double or triple every year for the next five years. That gets really exciting.
A walk around Ameritrade's west Omaha headquarters shows the company coping with growth spurts like a teenage boy outgrowing its clothes. New computer capacity has been added to handle the customer calls and their transactions. A fresh batch of cubicles seems to arrive daily.
[Lewis] This is an opportunity. It is-- I would like to say once in a lifetime but it's a once in several lifetime opportunity. We have the privilege of acquiring tens of millions of customers-- that's the potential-- not only in the U.S. but worldwide through this transformation and our growth is only limited by our own abilities so it is-- it's a thrill ride. It's a wonderful, wonderful thing.
And the future?
We'll buy 100 shares.
There is new technology like their partnership with a cell phone company that allows customers to trade stocks on the road.
It allows you then really all of the flexibility that the web site itself offers. Quotes, trades, balances, your account positions.
But there are nearly 150 companies offering internet brokerage services these days and some very big names are just getting started. No one expects them to all stay competitive. That means Ameritrade could start buying up its competition and keep growing, or Ameritrade could get gobbled up in a merger.
[Lewis] We would do the acquisition. We would rather eat than be eaten. I think that we're in very, very strong shape for that. Our company is very solid and we are one of the leaders in the industry.
One other important factor, Nebraska has not had a good track record lately keeping hold of its home-grown high tech businesses. Ameritrade seems satisfied to stay put.
[McDonald] We have our roots here but you go beyond heritage and look at some of the attributes with respect to doing business in Nebraska. We like it here. We have a tremendous work force. The loyalty and work ethic is second to none and there's no compelling reason to move at this time.
Nebraska, compared to the major financial centers, supplies a less expensive work force and low overhead needed to make eight bucks a trade profitable. After all, Ameritrade's mission is the same as its customers.
[Sue] It's all in my hands whether I make money or lose money, which right now it's ok. I'm not losing anything.
For Statewide, I'm Bill Kelly.

Captioning by Nebraska Captioning Center, Lincoln, Nebraska .