Fidelity has begun paying for Lehman Brothers research with real dollars and not soft dollars, reports several news sources.

According to Dow Jones, Fidelity began the "pilot program" with Lehman Brothers on October 3, and is in talks with other brokerages to implement similar programs.

The aim of the program is to lower trading costs.

"Now, Fidelity is going to pay for the research done by Lehman out of its own pocket and the commissions will pay for only the trade execution," spokeswoman Anne Crowley told Dow Jones.

Fidelity also hopes that its program will cause others to follow. "The issue of soft dollars calls for an industrywide solution and we hope this will encourage that," Crowley told Reuters. "No single company or broker can do this by itself. We need a level playing field."  

Stay ahead of the news ... Sign up for our email alerts now
CLICK HERE