Mitchell Caplan

Mitchell Caplan wants you to know that he is not the anti-Christos. "I'm Mitch Caplan, I am who I am, I have my own history," says the chief executive of Menlo Park-based E-Trade Group Inc. That may be, but it's notable that he has a conservative compensation package and a demure, if upbeat, view of his company's future -- all qualities that Caplan clearly hopes distinguish him from his immediate predecessor, Christos Cotsakos.

Mitchell Caplan wants you to know that he is not the anti-Christos. "I'm Mitch Caplan, I am who I am, I have my own history," says the chief executive of Menlo Park-based E-Trade Group Inc. That may be, but it's notable that he has a conservative compensation package and a demure, if upbeat, view of his company's future -- all qualities that Caplan clearly hopes distinguish him from his immediate predecessor, Christos Cotsakos.

Online brokerage E-Trade Financial Corp., whose stock was the worst-performing in the Standard & Poor's 500 index last year, named a former JPMorgan Chase & Co. vice chairman as chief executive. Donald Layton, 57, became New York-based E-Trade's chairman in November when the company ousted CEO Mitchell Caplan and received a $2.55-billion cash infusion from hedge fund Citadel Investment Group. Layton said Monday that there were no plans to sell or break up E-Trade, which has about $12 billion in troubled home equity loans on its books.

E-Trade Financial Corp. is moving its headquarters from Silicon Valley to New York next year in the company's latest step to distance itself from its roots as a dot-com rebel. The Jan. 1 address change, announced Wednesday, is seen as largely symbolic. The company, best known for its Internet stock brokerage, expects only three or four of the 360 employees at its Menlo Park, Calif.

Mitchell Caplan, E-Trade Financial Corp.'s chief executive, is reluctant to explain how his company came to own 1 million shares of BoysToys.Com Inc., a San Francisco strip-club operator that went bankrupt in 2001. "I'm not interested in talking about it so much," Caplan said in a recent interview. "It just encourages the bad guys." E-Trade, a discount broker, bought the BoysToys shares from customers whose accounts were stuffed with the near-worthless stock in August, according to a Sept.

E-Trade Financial Corp. on Thursday unveiled terms of a bid to buy rival discount stock broker Ameritrade Holding Corp., including $1.5 billion in cash and a 47.5% stake for Ameritrade shareholders in the combined company. Ameritrade's board said it rejected the offer. "The proposed deal represents immediate value creation for shareholders" of both companies, E-Trade Chief Executive Mitchell Caplan said in a statement. Ameritrade Chairman J.

E-Trade Group Inc., moving to diversify in order to weather the shaky stock market, said Thursday it will buy LoansDirect.com, a closely held online mortgage broker. Although specific terms weren't disclosed, E-Trade said the transaction will involve an exchange of stock. Huntington Beach-based LoansDirect, a major provider of online mortgages, will become part of E-Trade's bank subsidiary.

Online bank and discount brokerage E-Trade Group Inc. on Wednesday said customers traded less in July than in June even as the stock market continued to make headway. E-Trade's Chief Operating Officer Jarrett Lilien said the firm was pleased with its July results, though "it wouldn't surprise me" if August volume falls further in a traditional Wall Street summer slowdown.

Diversification pays. That was the spin Tuesday from brokerages E-Trade Group Inc. and Jefferies Group Inc., which reported first-quarter earnings hurt by the ongoing slump in stock trading but helped by gains in other businesses.

E-Trade Group Inc., whose former leader quit in January after his lavish pay package drew outrage, took its latest step Tuesday in a bid to soothe shareholder advocates, expanding its board to 10 directors from eight. Analysts said the Menlo Park, Calif.-based online investment firm, which also revamped its board's compensation committee, is making progress toward achieving an independent board.

Online brokerage and bank E-Trade Financial Corp. said Thursday that it was getting a $2.55-billion infusion from a hedge fund firm and ousting its chief executive after the company's shares plunged because of losses on securities linked to sub-prime mortgages. Chief Operating Officer Jarrett Lilien took over as acting CEO, replacing Mitchell Caplan, E-Trade said. Citadel, a Chicago-based hedge fund manager, will get a 17% stake in the company, plus notes issued by E-Trade, for $1.