Toronto, February 9th 2006 – Dalbar announced today that Montreal-based National Bank Direct Brokerage (NBDB) has captured the 2005 Direct Brokerage Service Award, the second consecutive time the company has done so.  NBDB achieved the Award based on the quality of service provided by its telephone representatives and of its responses to customers’ e-mail inquiries throughout the year.

“Our congratulations go out to National Bank Direct Brokerage for the high level of customer service that they continued to provide in 2005.  It is clear that they consider this concept central to their business model and to their overall success,” said Sandy Ghantous, Client Relationship Manager at Dalbar. 

TD Waterhouse and CIBC Investor’s Edge placed second and third, respectively, in DALBAR’s year-end rankings.  TD Waterhouse earned mention for featuring the shortest wait times necessary to reach a live representative, and Investor’s Edge for providing the fastest responses to customer e-mails during the year.

The Award is also based on a company’s performance in product knowledge, professionalism, and the ability to provide value-added service, all areas in which NBDB excelled.  By playing the role of the investor, Dalbar actively experiences the service that the average Canadian direct brokerage consumer would receive.

Dalbar, Inc. is a leading financial services research firm with offices in Toronto and Boston, specializing in measuring the performance of institutions and financial professionals in areas such as service quality, customer satisfaction, and communications effectiveness.