Conference nyoss1::market_investing

    I use FOX.  There is no usage charge for the quotes or trading.
    You use a TYMNET number so there are no phone charges if the
    closest TYMNET number is a local call.
    
    I still prefer Schwab's Equalizer because I can buy and then sell
    immediately.  FOX is very frustrating because you have to wait
    for their batch update programs overnight before the system recognizes
    that you own something that you can sell.  You can call them and talk
    to a person who can place the sell order, but then you don't get the
    10% discount for using FOX.  
    
    So I use Schwab for intraday trading, and Fidelity for things I plan
    to keep for at least a day.

>>  FOX is very frustrating because you have to wait
>>  for their batch update programs overnight before the system recognizes
>>  that you own something that you can sell. 

	One of the claims to fame in the new version of FOX (V2.0) is a fix 
	for this problem in the V1.0. Are you saying the new V2.0 still has
	this problem?

    Hi Phil,
    
    I was one of the Beta test sites for the FOX V2.0 and I gave 
    Fidelity alot of feedback on what needed to be improved.  I have
    the released V2.0 and it is a big improvement on V1.0, however,
    the intraday trading capability is 'coming soon'.  I just double
    checked their cover letter.
    
    Another problem I had involved buying/selling options.  The FOX 
    system wouldn't recognize all the symbols.  When I called them about
    the problem, it turned out that they simply hadn't loaded their
    database with all the valid symbols.  Even though I owned a certain
    
    Last Week I started using FOX for some long term stock picks. 
    I'll see if things have improved.
    
    Diane

    Sorry for the messed up sentence.  My laptop freezes up and I have
    to reboot.  I didn't notice that it lost part of my paragraph.
    
    The options problem might have been fixed.  I'm not trading options
    right now so I don't know for sure.

    Hi,
    
    i'm contemplating setting up an Ultra Service Account with Fidelity to
    have a place to park $$$ and utilize the FOX system.  Anyone in here
    presently have an Ultra Account and what do you think???  Has FOX
    improved over the last year since the base note???  Is it still at
    V2.0???
    
    Also, is the Ultra account SIPC insured and if so how confident are with 
    it compared to a brokerage service offered by a bank (were your parked 
    $$$ is FDIC insured)???
    
    i'm just getting into handling my own investment portfolio and any
    other comments/feedback would be most welcome.
    
    Regards and thanks,
    				Doug
          

    I joined this two months ago, but all my money is sitting in a mutual
    fund since I don't particularly like anything right now.
    
    I got version 2, but it is an updated version that has several new
    features, all documented separately, the most interesting of which is
    called Turbo Trader.  This is used for on-line trades.  Like I said, I
    haven't used it yet.  One thing I don't like about FOX is the inability
    to find the stock symbols of companies if you don't know the name that they
    have stored.  For example, I wanted info on WESTINGHOUSE ELECTRIC, and
    requested it.  FOX could not find it.  I then called compuserve and
    made the same request.  They gave me the symbol WX.  So I entered this
    into FOX and dialed them again.  FOX found it as WESTINGHOUSE ELEC CORP.
    Well excuuuuse me! 
    This happened on about 5 of 13 stocks, all of which could easily be
    found in Compuserve.
    
    Wayne
    

    
    
    Anyone care to share their recent experience with FOX?  Have things
    improved?  Are they executing your trades to your satisfaction?
    
    

    I am still using FOX. I am not an active trader. The current version of
    the FOX software is V2.1. They currently writing a new version of the
    FOX client that will be windows 3.1 and windows95 compliant. They
    expect it to ship late in the calendar year.

    They said the same thing - about a Windows Version - about a year ago.

    re: .9
    
    The one they talk about last year was to be produced by MECA, the
    company that built the current FOX software. They have since cut those 
    ties and have started an inhouse effort for the next generation of FOX
    software. 

    I 'found' this CD among others on my PC tonite and since I'd
    forgotten the details and the +/-'s of it, I just reinstalled
    and it dialed up Fidelity and brought me to sign-up screen.
    It noted there that the service " is free until May 1997  ..."
    
    Anyone know the details of what happens after that ? ( how much/what 
    will charges be ?) .
    To complete the Basic install (No Reuters/only the REQ'D files is
    ~16Mb) What is all this data ? I got this around Nov '96, and
    it's version 1.0 ! Previous notes show V2.x.  Diff program ?
    

They now have "Fidelity On Line Express+".  Note the "+".  This is an
upgrade to the old FOX (no "+").  You can get a copy by calling Fidelity. 
When you install FOX+, you have an option to import your old FOX data to
FOX+.  The manual talks a lot about potential problems you can have
performing this operation.  I never had FOX so it was irrelevant to me.

It's a 12-disk package, but without the Reuters stuff, you're done after
disk 6 or 7.  There is a 5 MB file of ticker symbols that I tried to avoid
installing (using Custom Install).  The installation went OK, but when I
tried to launch the program it said "could not find SYMBOLS.DB".  So, I had
to go back and install the symbols database.

I think the statement "free until May 1997" means that you can do
unlimited quotes and news items until that time.  Normally, you have a
number of "credits" that get decremented by 1 every time you ask for a
quote or new item (news headlines are free).  You get an initial allotment
of 100 credits, and every trade you make on-line earns you an additional
100.  Some credits expire after 1 month, some do not.

The program is neat, but you can get most of the important features
(account balances/positions and discounted automated trades) through their
new Web site, WebExpress (webxpress.fidelity.com).  To access this, you
need the 128-bit encryption versions of Netscape or Internet Explorer (good
luck downloading them!), and if you do it from inside DEC you need to
specify a Security Proxy like www-proxy.das.dec.com:8080 that will pass on
the SSL stuff to the Internet.  Charges and credits work the same as FOX+. 
To get the 128-bit browsers you need to input a form that gives your name,
address, and phone number, and states that you are a US or citizen (the
128-bit encryption, unlike the standard 40-bit encryption, is considered a
munition by the US govt and is not exportable outside the country).

The only things you can do with FOX+ that you can't do with WebExpress is
print graphs, charts, and reports.

adam

    	I used FOX for quite some time...  It is pretty hard to take the
    $40-$100 comissions in this day of $10-$20 comissions at loads of other
    places.  The good part is that someone was always on the other end of
    the phone at 11pm when I'd have a question.  If you want a high profile
    brokerage, at least check out Schwab @$29 per trade.  They have some
    fancy portfolio tracking software too.  If you want to go real
    low-ball, check out Datek (www.datek.com). $9.99 a trade (free if it
    takes more than 60 seconds to do a market order trade).  I'm very
    happy with them.

If anyone wants a copy of FOX+, I have the installation disks and a copy of
the User Manual.

I'm in LKG, so I guess this offer is only useful for people in the LKG
area.

adam