National City Launches Online Investment Service

National City Corp. has launched ShareBuilder, an easy and affordable online service that lets people invest in stocks automatically in regular, dollar-based amounts. Cleveland-based National City becomes the first Midwest-concentrated bank to offer the innovative ShareBuilder service.

National City and ShareBuilder Securities Corporation, a Bellevue, Wash.-based online brokerage, are crediting $25 to new customer accounts set up before Jan. 31, 2002.

Through ShareBuilder, clients can invest at their own pace in more than 4,000 stocks and 60 index securities, without any minimums, annual fees or inactivity fees. Stocks can be purchased online for only $4 per recurring purchase of individual stocks or $12 per month for unlimited purchases of stock. Investors may fund their ShareBuilder account on an automatic weekly, monthly or one-time schedule by directly withdrawing from a National City checking or savings account, and enjoy dollar-based investing, the ability to buy full and fractional shares of stock.

"For new investors, ShareBuilder eliminates financial barriers to entering the stock market and is a cost-effective way to invest over the long term," according to Roger Piskos, vice president of e-banking services at $96 billion National City. "With no minimums and low transaction fees, ShareBuilder is an ideal service that makes investing for the future available to all."

The investing philosophy behind ShareBuilder is dollar-cost averaging, a time-tested and effective way to accumulate wealth over time. Instead of putting a lump sum of money into a stock at one price, you automatically invest a fixed amount of money every month--ensuring that you buy more shares when the price is lower and fewer when the stock price is higher.

According to Russ Gochneaur, national sales manager for NatCity Investments, "This proven strategy encourages discipline and eliminates the guesswork of when to invest. It will allow National City customers to avoid the temptation of trying to time the market."