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In Focus #70: June 9, 2009


Financial Advisers in Motion; A Primer On the Employment Issues Facing Those in Transition


Retirement Income: Repairing the Damage to Assure the Flow


Train Wrecks of Estate Planning


A Complex Game: The Life Settlement Process
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A Great Investment Tool: The Internet


At the click of a mouse button, today's investor has the remarkable ability to obtain an abundance of investment data, research and statistics. Of course, some Internet sites are purely promotional, with little or no value. Worse, some sites offer pure junk. And some sites charge a fee. The key is to find reliable and informative sites that can complement the professional advice received from the money manager.

In September, 1997 the American Association of Individual Investors (AAII) published its annual review of web sites. AAII covered 254 sites, and ranked each based upon a score of 1 (lowest quality) to 5 (highest quality). Here are some of those sites.

http://www.aaii.com is a valuable site focusing upon investor education, including annuities and insurance, as well as mutual fund and stock data. There are newsgroups for discussion. Investors also can download a great many substantive articles from the association's publications. A small fee is charged.

http://www.barrons.com covers stocks, bonds, international investments and mutual funds, for a fee. Ranked a 4 for quality, the site performs financial planning and charting functions. The site provides news, financial data and ratios, earnings estimates/research, technical indicators, industry data, market/economic data and reports.

http://www.globalfindata.com is a free site that focuses upon historical market data for stocks and fixed income investments. AAII ranks the site a 4 for quality.

http://www.irs.ustreas.gov is the IRS site. This also is a free site and, as amazing as this may sound, earns 5 stars for quality. Taxpayers can download tax information, and can access news, financial planning, educational material and reports.

http://www.morningstar.com receives 5 stars for quality. This free site truly is exceptional for stock and fund data. Investors can perform portfolio tracking, screening and charting. The site provides news, quotes, financial data and ratios, educational pieces and performance information.

http://www.techstocks.com is the Silicon Investor site. Although it earns only 3 stars, it is a no-fee site that focuses upon technology stocks and provides valuable newsgroups for discussion. It also provides quotes.

http://www.wallstreetcity.com receives 5 stars for its stock screening capabilities.

http://www.wsrn.com provides valuable investment web links. AAII gives the site 4 stars. The site also provides coverage on some of the more obscure public companies, including news and financial data and ratios.

To learn about regulations, as well as other matters, two government sites are exceptional. First, the Securities and Exchange Commission's site, http://www.sec.gov, receives a well earned 5 for quality. Second, the site for the National Association of Securities Dealers, http://www.nasdr.com receives a 4 for quality.

Separately, the NASDAQ stock exchange provides a comprehensive site. One impressive feature is the company links. Investors can obtain quotes and news, then link directly to the company site for other information such as product lines. The address is http://www.nasdaq.com, and it receives a 4 for quality.

There are numerous sites relating to brokerage firms and mutual fund companies. Whether or not investors do business with these entities, they should visit the following sites: E*Trade Securities, http://www.etrade.com; Fidelity Investments, http://www.fidelity.com; Charles Schwab & Co., http://www.schwab.com; and Vanguard, http://www.vanguard.com. AAII rates Fidelity and Vanguard a 5 for quality, and rates E*Trade and Schwab a 4 for quality.

Finally, several money managers have created web sites. For example, investors wishing to review articles, post messages, and see Investor Alerts, soon will be able to visit the author's site, http://www.FinancialCounsel.com.

In conclusion, these and other Internet sites provide a wealth of investment information. Investors now can access the kinds of data which, historically, were available only to professional money managers, brokerage firms and mutual fund companies. While not a substitute for qualified investment advice, these sites do offer a valuable foundation for sound investing.





Sponsored by James J. Eccleston. This Web site contains material of general interest. It is neither intended to, nor constitutes, either legal advice or investment advice.
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