Schwab Begins Voice-Recognition Trading

Charles Schwab Corp., the biggest U.S. discount broker, began offering investors the ability to buy or sell 1,300 mutual funds by speaking to a computer that recognizes vocal commands. The San Francisco-based broker, known for its innovation in technology, plans to expand the service to include the trading of stocks, bonds and other securities. VoiceBroker, available in four states, recognizes major U.S. regional accents. Schwab is rolling out the trading system more than a year after it began offering customers stock quotations through its voice-recognition system. VoiceBroker now handles almost 1 million calls a month for stock quotations. In 1989, Schwab started TeleBroker, a touch-tone telephone trading service, and later added versions in Mandarin Chinese, Cantonese Chinese and Spanish. TeleBroker now handles 6 million customer calls. Schwab shares rose 13 cents to close at $35.88 on the New York Stock Exchange.