Scottrade Inc. is opening two branches as it tries to build business here in a time of flux for stock brokerages.
The St. Louis-based company this month opened a branch in Tustin and plans on opening another in Huntington Beach next month. The branches bring Scottrade’s local offices to six.
Scottrade wants to open 50 branches across the country this year but doesn’t plan to open more in Orange County, said Mark Kreyche, Tustin branch manager.
Scottrade is opening the locations to handle a growth in customers here, according to Kreyche.
“We go where the business is,” he said.
Scottrade first came to the county in 1990 with its Irvine branch. It has others in Anaheim, Newport Beach and Laguna Hills.
The new offices should add about 10 jobs, bringing the brokerage’s total to about 30 in the county.
The job count ranks Scottrade in the 20 largest brokerages here.
Scottrade, which caters to online investors with discounted trades, still is small compared to the biggest brokerages here.
The largest in the county, Merrill Lynch & Co.,recently bought by Charlotte, N.C.-based Bank of America Corp.,employs about 400 people.
Unlike Merrill Lynch and other big investment banks, Scottrade offers just basic stock trading.
The brokerage is expanding during a tough time for stock trading, with Wall Street off by about 40% in 2008.
Scottrade could be looking to pick up clients as the big, dominant investment banks go through a massive wave of consolidation.
Discount rivals include Omaha, Neb.-based TD Ameritrade Holding Corp., New York-based E-Trade Financial Corp. and San Francisco’s Charles Schwab Corp.
Scottrade branch employees don’t give investment advice. They’re trained to open accounts and help people navigate the brokerage’s Web site.
Most of the brokerage’s local customers are part of the 55 and up crowd with larger accounts, Kreyche said.
“We’re right here in an affluent area,” he said. “We expect to be busy.”
