Merrill Lynch HSBC Canada Inc. is launching real time ‘Trade Order Status Alerts’ for its online clients.

Trade Order Status Alerts is designed to provide immediate notification and convenient tracking of all trade orders placed at MLHSBC’s client site – invest.mlhsbc.ca.

Once a trade order has been placed, clients immediately receive confirmation of its status via email, PCS phone or PDA such as the Blackberry pager.

“MLHSBC is committed to providing our clients with real time information they need to manage their investments,” said Peter Hickman, president and CEO. “This unique service allows them to focus on their next investment move and their next trade rather than on the status of trades already placed.”

MLHSBC is unveiling a range of new initiatives in 2002. In addition to the award-winning research available at www.mlhsbc.ca, it will soon enhance its market intelligence offering to its clients with additional research from Morningstar Canada and Briefing.com.

MLHSBC was recently ranked a “top pick” in research for self-directed RRSPs in The Globe and Mail’s third annual survey of online brokerages for self-directed RRSPs and cited “among the best” in the research category in a recent study of financial services in Canada by GomezCanada, a financial services consulting firm.

Merrill Lynch HSBC is a 50:50 joint venture between Merrill Lynch and HSBC.