E-Trade Site to Offer Morningstar Research

Online brokerage E-Trade Group Inc. said Monday that Morningstar Inc. will provide mutual fund research and performance data on the E-Trade Mutual Fund Center Web site.

Palo Alto-based E-Trade offers 4,000 mutual funds at its year-old Fund Center, which also features screening tools, research, fact sheets, charts and prospectuses. E-Trade said Morningstar will help maintain the fund data on the site and add “state-of-the-art products and services,” as yet unspecified.

E-Trade is the No. 2 online broker behind Charles Schwab Corp., according to Credit Suisse First Boston, with 10.8% of trades made in the third quarter, compared with 30.3% for Schwab. Schwab offers about 2,300 funds through its Mutual Fund Marketplace and OneSource.

E-Trade shares rose $1.56 to close at $19.56 on Nasdaq.