DALLAS, April 1, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- Rush Financial Technologies, Inc. (OTCBB:RSHF), dba RushTrade(r) Group, announced today its trade volume report for the month of March and for the first quarter ended March 31, 2004. RushTrade Securities, Inc. ("RushTrade"), the Company's broker/dealer subsidiary, reports continued growth in Customer Accounts, Customer Account Assets, and Trade Volume.
RushTrade reported that the number of customer accounts increased to 1,798 in March, up from 1,630 in February, an increase of greater than 10% over the previous month. More than 80% of new accounts are subscribing to the new and enhanced RushTrade Direct Plus and Direct Pro software platforms.
RushTrade also reported the number of trades processed grew from 16,270 in February to 20,307 in March, an increase in Trade Volume of 24%, with the total number of shares traded increasing from 46,033,738 in February to 78,024,289 in March, a 69% increase. The number of trades increased 366% in the first quarter 2004 over the same period in 2003 to 54,939 up from 11,786, increasing 17.5% from 46,757 in the fourth quarter to 54,939 in the first quarter 2004.
Customer Account Assets increased 192% from the first quarter 2004 over the same period in 2003, to $47,850,148, up from $16,355,847, increasing 28% from the fourth quarter of 2003. Shares traded increased almost 1,800% in the first quarter of 2004 over the same period in 2003, to 194 million, up from 10 million, an increase of 37% from 140 million in the fourth quarter of 2003.
Additional news articles, reports, recent press releases and other information about RushTrade Group and its RushTrade Direct Plus and Direct Pro software products may be accessed at www.rushtrade.com.
About RushTrade Group
RushTrade Group operates through two primary subsidiaries:
RushGroup Technologies, Inc. ("RushGroup"), the Company's financial technology development subsidiary, develops and operates proprietary real-time portfolio management software products, order management systems, direct-access trading software applications and data services center. Utilizing a number of proprietary technologies and its exclusive Direct Access Routing Technology (DART(tm)), RushGroup offers real-time market data platforms and Direct Access products to meet the needs of active online investors, semi-professional traders or institutional portfolio managers and traders.
RushTrade Securities, Inc, ("RushTrade"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company and a fully disclosed introducing broker/dealer and member NASD and SIPC, offers securities and online brokerage services to its retail customers utilizing RushGroup's software products. RushTrade customer trades are cleared through and customer accounts are held at a third party clearing firm. RushTrade is registered in all 50 U.S. states and accepts customers from most foreign countries. RushTrade customer accounts are self-directed, and RushTrade does not provide advice or make trade recommendations.
The Company is headquartered in Dallas, Texas and its common stock is traded on the OTC.BB Market under the symbol "RSHF." For more information about RushTrade and the RushGroup products, please visit www.rushtrade.com.
This press release includes statements that may constitute "forward-looking" statements, usually containing the word "believe," "estimate," "project," "expect" or similar expressions. Forward-looking statements inherently involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. Factors that would cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, continued acceptance of the Company's product and services in the marketplace, competitive factors, changes in regulatory environments, and other risks detailed in the Company's periodic report filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. By making these forward-looking statements, the Company disclaims any obligation to update these statements for revisions or changes after the date of this release.