And at the big brokerages, it certainly pays to negotiate and perhaps to bluff, even if you're a new customer.

Another big brokerage, Sulzberger Rolfe, said its 1990 sales were running 28 percent above those of last year.

The big brokerage pleaded guilty in May 1985, to 2,000 counts of mail and wire fraud.

But once the big Japanese brokerages enter the market, the pace of trading could rise markedly.

It is difficult to tell how much, if anything, the penalty will cost the big brokerage houses.

Nomura, Japan's biggest brokerage, has not joined forces with any other top bank.

Complaints are seeping out from some big brokerage firms about bonuses that are half the amount of last year's.

In response, the big brokerages have tried to develop fee-based products, like the investment programs known as wrap accounts.

Wrap accounts were first offered by big brokerages, but mutual fund companies are jumping on the bandwagon.

"I remember seeing him at a meeting when he came back from visiting one of the big brokerages," said a former duPont partner.