Stock Market
Compiled by Sue Hugus
Forbes Best of the Web - Forbes has reviewed many different sites found on the web today. You may want to explore some of the interesting sites Forbes has listed. (The Forbes page doesn't always load correctly, so if it doesn't load the first time, try again.)
Table of Contents
Brokers on the Web
There are more than 150 brokers on the Web. All offer services of one type or another. Fees vary according to the services they provide. Many brokers are now offering wireless services.
Broker-Assisted Trading
- Merrill Lynch
- Morgan Stanley
- UBS
- Prudential Securities
- Citigroup Citigroup has taken over Salomon Smith Barney.
- JP Morgan
- U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffrey
Popular Broker Sites
- Ameritrade
- E-Trade - offers online banking, news, research, and message boards.
- Charles Schwab
- Morgan Stanley Dean Witter
- Scottrade - one can open an account with as little as $500.
- American Express
- National Discount Brokers - has been acquired by Deutsche Bank as of November 2000. Check for changes in its service.
- Fidelity.com - different fees and services based on the number of trades and the amount of the individual's portfolio.
- Firstrade - Can have a low initial account minimum.
- A. B. Watley - For $35,000 minimum beginning account and other requirements, but does provide NASDAQ Level II quotes.
- Trading Direct - Another firm that allows low minimum beginning balances.
- SiebertNet.com
- BuyandHold.com - A site useful for novices and those who want to add to their account every month for a small fee.
For another great list of licensed brokers that provide Web services check out Yahoo's list.
Software and Sites that give the Investor
the Same Edge as the Pros!
THESE SITES HAVE FEES!
Data
Data Sites - Subscription services offer historical price and volume date, real-time Nasdaq Level I quotes (best bid and ask prices), time and sales trade reports, and news. Level II quotes include all bids and ask prices plus volume offered by market makers. Level II quotes cost extra. The sites include charting and technical indicators.
Technical Analysis
Technical Analysis - Software that details charting of security prices and volume. Incorporates dozens of technical indicators to spot trends and help time trades. They allow users to specify trading strategies and back-test them against historical data.
Direct Access
Direct-access brokers let traders execute with the market maker, exchange, or ECN (Electronic Communications Network) of their choice for faster trades and confirmations. CyberTrader and TradeScape feature "intelligent order routing" to find best prices and most reliable executions.
Wireless Trading Sites
Check to see what types of wireless devices each one these services can offer before you sign up with them, as well as, the costs involved. The wireless space is changing so fast that only a few are listed.
It has become a World Wide Trading Place.
ADR -This is a J.P. Morgan site, which has detailed information on some 500 American depositary receipts. This is a good site for research.
EuropeanInvestor - Market news, real-time quotes, and IPO rankings on European stocks.
Yahoo! Finance - Finance.yahoo is a large site with links to sites in the local language; however, Singapore, Canada, and Britain are in English.
Wright Investors' Service - Large online library of English profiles, stock quotes on thousands of foreign corporations.
Financial Times - a site devoted to international markets.
FT.com - Complete coverage of the world from Australia to Zimbabwe; however, company information may not be up-to-date.
Nikkei Net Interactive - Find leading Japanese business news and link to Asian Technology News.
UK-iNvest.com - Provides many links to other sites.
Canadian Stock Watching--Silicon Valley of the North
SEDAR - Is Canada's EDGAR, but the site needs a better search engine.
Message Boards
Dos and Don'ts
| Do | Don't |
|---|---|
| Ask about message posters'credentials. | Reveal personal information. |
| Get involved - reply and ask questions. | Become involved with "flame wars" |
| Consult news articles and filings. | Buy stocks solely on messages. |
| Pay attention to negative views. | Read only the positive messages. |
Message Board Sites
- AOL Message Boards - Keyword: PF Boards
- Cansilim email Discussion Group - dedicated to the Investors Business Daily's founders method of picking stocks. Be ready for many emails arriving daily if a member. This site is not endorsed or affiliated with the founder of Investors Business Daily.
- Clearstation
- Raging Bull
- Silicon Investor
- Stock Market Outlook - Managers from only the site's top 25% online portfolios can post messages on the board. Be aware that even the best can give bad advice and fees are charged for certain boards or reports.
- Motley Fool
- Motley Fool: Rule Breaker - A yearly fee may be charged for some services but posts on the board may show trends in the market.
- Instant Bull - Browse stock market blogs, message boards and keep up with the new Hot stock of the day.
Super Sites and Directories
Yahoo! Finance - Yahoo is organized into broad categories such as research and world markets. It focuses on data. Now gives free real time ECN quotes.
MoneyCentral - Places a greater emphasis on editorial content and step-by-step guides than Yahoo. Is also big on tools to help the investor. MoneyCentral and CNBC have merged.
Quicken.com - Focuses on broad coverage and consistency.
CEOExpress - Best site for wireless users, WiredCEO is a special collection of links and resources designed for your Palm or cell phone. Navigation is tedious.
Excite - Excite has a partnership with Quicken which does give Yahoo a run for the money for some people who use it.
Silicon Investor - A must for the tech investor, but the investor must search through a lot of noise to find those great tips. Free real-time quotes are available.
Investools.com - Is an education site where one can sign up for investment classes and other tools.
Yodlee - Collects all of your financial information, from stocks to your available credit, in one place. This could be a great time saver. Concerns about
information privacy need to be questioned.
IPO Sites
IPO Central - A one-stop information clearinghouse on initial public offerings, with comprehensive data and hype-free news.
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission - A prospectus of an IPO can be viewed free of charge; however, the information may be delayed a day or two.
DRIP Investing
DRIPs are Dividend Reinvestment Programs that allow a person to buy a dollar amount of stock rather than an amount. Many times the investor can work directly with a company rather than a broker. Smaller fees are usually charged; however, these fees are increasing. DRIPs are a good start for beginning investors. An investor could add dollar amounts each month to a plan.
DirectInvesting.com - An online newsletter with tips for getting started and a list of companies. A fee charged to set up DRIP accounts.
DRIP Investor - Run by a company that has long produced a newsletter. The site contains columns and a message board on different DRIP topics.
Team Players Investing
bivio Investment Clubs - A great resource for investment clubs. Will up-date club assets, allows club members to view portfolio, fills out tax forms for members, and helps people form new clubs. No fee is charged for its services.
Financial News
I have only given a few of the larger names in the field of news.
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission - Financial reports of publicly owned firms are found on this government site. Information may be delayed a day or two.
CBS MarketWatch - A site sponsored by CBS MarketWatch.
CNN/Money - A part of CNN's web site which has teamed up with "Money" magazine.
Bloomberg.com - Compliments Bloomberg TV.
MSN Money - Complements CNBC's all day network TV programs.
MSNBC - CNBC will also have links to this site for general news of the day.
CNET.com - Can provide interesting articles on technology, as well as price quotes and other information.
WhisperNumber - Matches analysts and investors earnings expectations.
ON24 - Provides email notification of audio and video reports on different companies. Real Player at Real.com will have to be downloaded.
Vcall - Presents interviews with analysts and provides news.
TheStreet.com - The site dropped the fee for its all-access pass to the output of the 24-hour, business-news-only newsroom.
Stock Quotes and Research
Many of the business news sites will also give you quotes and some research.
Yahoo! Finance - Yahoo now gives free real-time ECN quotes.
MSN MoneyCentral - Gives many of the ratings and has the advisor FYI alerts.
Reuters - A great place to look up prices and date. Provides data for 135 financial websites.
AAII.com - A site devoted to investor education about stocks and funds.
10k Wizard - An easier way to search the EDGAR database. Will also send email alerts when one registers.
EDGAR Online - Is fee-based service to find information provided to the SEC.
Morningstar.com - Is usually known for rating mutual funds, but has a lot of useful information on individual companies.
Value Line - Covers 1,700 companies, but at a cost. Has a rating service and access to reports and summaries.
Historic Stock Quotes
Not all historic quotes are available for all years on the Internet at this time. Check with the New York Times or the Wall Street Journal.
BigCharts - One of the easier sites to use. It needs only the stock symbol and date. Covers January 1988 to present. Gives closing price, split-adjusted prices, and adjustment factor.
CBS Marketwatch - Coverage varies and provides only historic daily quotes. Type in the stock symbol; select "historical quote" from the list of choices; type in the date.
Silicon Investor - Has stock quotes for most companies from Jan. 2, 1968 to the present. Provides opening, closing, low price, and volume.
Portfolio Tracking and Analysis
CNBC.com - I use this portfolio tracker for its easy and new analysis features. Windows Media Player is needed for video clips of past interviews.
The following were introduced on CNBC; however, they are all separate sites at this time. I found them to be very useful when they were included.
Market Edge - Provides information from leading Buy/Sell timing services.
Tradeworx - Helps the trader decide how soon a limit order may sell.
Validea - Presents recent comments by analysts about a certain stock.
MoneyCentral - Provides a very comprehensive tracker. Keeps track of splits.
SmartMoney.com - Compares funds and stocks with competing companies.
BigCharts - As the name suggests, they present readable charts of stocks showing daily trading volumes and other information.
Reuters - This site is a favorite of Forbes.com. Reports from brokerages varies widely and report can cost from $10 to $150.
BestCalls - Listen to conference calls and live broadcasts of earnings' Announcements. Real Player at www.real.com will have to be downloaded. This is a free site.
Zacks.com - Collects research and provides ratings on stocks.
Fund Selection
Morningstar.com - Even if you are not interested in buying into a fund, this will tell you which fund is buying or selling the stock you are researching.
FundAlarm - Has a method to figure out when to sell a fund.
Personal Fund - One of the best sites to test-drive a fund for performance.
Quicken.com - Portfolio statistics are defined and explained.
Smartmoney.com - A great tool for 401(k) investors.
Selling Short
Selling short is borrowing stock from a broker in a margin account. The borrowed stock is sold. The investor waits for the stock to drop, and then buys it back to "buy to cover."
Tulips and Bears - A
stock-picking site devoted to overpriced stocks.
Popular Press Publications on the Web
To access full up-to-date information, a subscription to the print media is usually needed.
Barron's Online - News and analysis from the magazine and exclusive to the Web site.
BusinessWeek Online - Older information is available without a fee.
Institutional Investor - Annual reports on the best analysts in the business based on popularity among investors.
Investor's Business Daily - A new undertaking that will complement the daily paper.
Kiplinger - The online version of the magazine.
SmartMoney.com - Is the online edition of the personal finance magazine.
TheStreet.com - This site is in flux. Fees seem to have been removed. Does short current articles on stock in the news.
WSJ.com - Only subscription based. Has a library of 5,000 newspapers and magazines.
money.com - Popular site of Money magazine.
RedHerring.com - Free web version of the magazine which includes daily news and analysis. Outline of current print issue provided.
Investment Education for Kids
Young Investors Network - Does not have ads or ask kids to give any information.
Young Investor - Again no heavy-handed selling, but you should have high speed-access.
Glossary Sources
InvestorWords - Over 500 words defined.
MoneyWords - "Glossary to flatten the learning curve and succeed".
OneLook - English or French words are explained.