      Table 1. Old "SOES" Trader vs. Today's "Equity DayTrader."
|The Old "SOES" Trader               |Today's "Equity DayTrader"        ||Operated in a relatively            |Operates in a highly competitive  ||noncom-petitive environment with a  |environment with narrow spreads.  ||limited number of participants and  |                                  ||wider spreads.                      |                                  ||Required little or no understanding |Requires substantial knowledge and||of equity markets or other financial|understanding of the equity       ||markets.                            |markets, as well as the interplay ||                                    |of the bond, futures, and overseas||                                    |markets.                          ||Required little training and offered|Requires continuous research and  ||"easy" profit opportunities.        |homework to be successful and has ||                                    |a six-month or longer learning    ||                                    |curve.                            ||Nearly anyone could be a successful |Only intelligent, savvy,          ||SOES trader.                        |knowledgeable, disciplined        ||                                    |DayTraders survive in today's     ||                                    |environment.                      ||Limited trading to Nasdaq over the  |Trades both listed and Nasdaq     ||counter equities.                   |equities.                         ||Used rudimentary software that      |Use sophisticated,                ||lacked decision support, risk       |fully-integrated market monitoring||management, and account management  |and trade execution platforms that||tools. Orders were shouted across   |include decision support tools and||the room to order entry clerks, who |filters, trade and account        ||then shouted back confirmations.    |management systems, capital       ||                                    |utilization and risk control      ||                                    |tools, and sophisticated          ||                                    |electronic execution functions    ||                                    |complete with artificial          ||                                    |intelligence routines. Order      ||                                    |routing and confirmation is       ||                                    |completely electronic, with       ||                                    |execution times as quick as 1/2   ||                                    |second.                           ||Used only the "scalping" technique. |Utilizes a combination of         ||                                    |scalping, fundamental, and        ||                                    |technical analysis.               ||Traded only in SOES trading shops.  |Trade in hedge funds and equity   ||                                    |DayTrading shops as well as       ||                                    |remotely throughout the United    ||                                    |States via Internet, direct       ||                                    |dial-up, and frame relay          ||                                    |connections.                      |