Bing Newcomb, Whose E*Trade Transformed Stock Trading, Dies at 79

Mr. Newcomb, who had been working as a freelance computer programmer, hiring himself out to banks and other businesses that needed a guide to emerging digital technologies, provided the answers.

In 1982, with $15,000 in capital, the partners started TradePlus, one of the first electronic trading platforms. Its first trade was made on July 11, 1983, by a Michigan dentist.

By enabling investors to trade stocks from their computers, the company cut the cost of transactions below the rates charged not only by full-service brokerage houses but even by many discount brokers. The service helped promote the sale of home computers and transformed amateur Wall Street buffs into professional day traders.

Despite his impaired vision, Mr. Newcomb skied and hiked, and, while he couldn’t drive, he would rise well before dawn, tape a flashlight to the handlebars of his bike and pedal to work, arriving before the stock market opened in New York.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/04/business/dealbook/bing-newcomb-dead.html