Wells Fargo to Offer Online Stock Buying

Hoping to lure more casual investors into online investing, Wells Fargo & Co. this week will unveil an Internet service that allows customers to buy individual stocks in small batches. The service enables investors to buy stocks in whatever dollar amount they desire, San Francisco-based Wells said. The service, which lists 4,100 stocks and 68 indexes, allows investors to invest fixed-dollar amounts in weekly or monthly intervals. Each purchase order incurs a $2 fee. The service is the brainchild of Bellevue, Wash.-based Netstock, which first introduced the system in December 1999. Wells is the first major bank or brokerage to offer the system. Wells views the service as a drawing card for its Web site as well as a potentially valuable revenue source. The service thrusts Wells into a fiercely competitive field, where its rivals will include leading online brokers Charles Schwab Corp. and E-Trade Group Inc.