We are in the process of wrapping up our latest Brokerage Website Audit in which we analyze and rank the top brokerage firms from a client perspective looking on website capabilities and overall usability. Part of the research consists of a survey of 1000 individual investors to find out what is most important to them when it comes to online brokerage. The most important attribute this year - not surprisingly - is security of personal information.

What is surprising, then, is the lack of multi-factor authentication being used by the retail brokerage websites. While this security feature is nearly universal among the bank websites that we track, only two firms in our study offer similar measures - E*TRADE and Vanguard. Most firms remain wedded to a single ID and password protection scheme. This will likely change over the next several months as customer anxiety over identity theft grows and consumers become accustomed to the multi-factor process through their bank and credit card sites. Now, however, is an opportune time for brokerages to join the party.