Fidelity Investments and Lehman Brothers (LEH) have formed a strategic alliance across a broad spectrum of investment products, research, and distribution channels, the companies jointly announced today.

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Under the alliance, Lehman will sell securities over the Internet for the first time, making available a range of equity and fixed income products to Fidelity's eligible retail and institutional brokerage clients, including the possibility of participating in Lehman Brothers lead-managed initial public offerings.

Fidelity's brokerage arm, the fourth biggest online broker, has 2.7 million online retail accounts. As of May, almost 2/3 of the 93,000 trades made each day by Fidelity brokerage customers were transacted online, and some 78 percent of all equity trades were made over the Internet.

The IPO shares will only be available to a select few, however, as it requires $500,000 in certain assets with Fidelity, or membership in Fidelity Premium Services, or customers who qualify for Active Trader or Gold Circle commission schedules.

The deal also includes Lehman's equity and debt research being made available to Fidelity retail brokerage customers, including individual company reports, industry and sector analysis, global economic strategy reports, bond technical analysis.

"We are very pleased that this alliance with Lehman Brothers will provide Fidelity retail brokerage customers with greater access to research, IPOs, and other investment products," said Edward C. Johnson III, chairman and chief executive officer of Fidelity Investments. "We believe that this arrangement will provide another strong incentive for customers to consolidate their investments with Fidelity."

"This arrangement further strengthens Lehman Brothers' position as a leading global investment bank," said Richard S. Fuld, Jr., chairman and chief executive officer of Lehman Brothers. "It provides the Firm with a significant advantage by combining the breadth and depth of Fidelity's retail and Internet brokerage network with our already strong institutional distribution capabilities."

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