Online Investing Tips #1



*1. STOCKMASTER

Sometimes just the basics are enough, especially if they're 
packaged clearly. StockMaster delivers major index pricings; 
tables of the most active stocks, gainers, and losers; earnings 
reports; and interactive portfolios for anyone who registers 
(it's free). The Loan Center is perhaps the most evolved 
feature of StockMaster, provided through a partnership with 
E-Loan. You can search for rates, and prequalify and apply 
for a loan. 

StockMaster furnishes a very nice quote engine, including a 
dropdown menu that lets you select a quote/chart page (the 
charts are beautiful), news links, financial tables, SEC 
filings, an earnings history, and research links for any 
company. Message boards invite users to "exchange, discuss & 
gloat." The boards are presented in a quick, easily navigable 
interface. All in all, StockMaster is attractive and delivers 
important information quickly. 

http://www.stockmaster.com


*2. GOOD MONEY

The tagline to this site is "Social, Ethical and Environmental 
Investing and Consuming & Corporate Accountability." That's a 
mouthful. Good Money's mission is to provide information on 
politically correct investing. Mutual funds are highlighted, as 
are banks. An astonishing directory of socially proper 
companies anchors the site with lists of African American 
companies, natural-food companies, firms that make acceptable 
consumer products, environmentally friendly companies, 
corporations of interest to "social and ethical investors," 
and much more. 

The site is amateur in design, but don't let that stop you from 
taking advantage of its information. While you're there, don't 
miss the Cartoons & Jokes page, where you can read about some 
of the many social blunders corporations have made when 
introducing American products abroad. 

http://www.goodmoney.com


*3. GARZARELLI.COM

You may have heard her name mentioned in financial news reports 
or seen her expound her philosophies on CNBC. Elaine Garzarelli 
is one of the most visible stock pundits on the scene, and has 
been for the last decade. Garzarelli's investing attitudes have 
thrived in the extended bull market, and she espouses a 
sector-oriented version of the old buy-low-sell-high maxim. 
Believing in the cyclical nature of industries, she often talks 
about which sectors are ripe for investment. 

Garzarelli's newsletter is at the center of this site, and it's 
a subscription product. (Current cost is $149 per year.) That's 
not to say there isn't some good free stuff, though. The market 
guru posts regular analyses of the economy and the stock 
marketplace. Of particular interest are the stock market 
indicators she uses when analyzing sectors. There are 14 of 
these indicators, and studying the list provides some good 
ideas for independent research. Still, the site is mostly about 
the newsletter. Fortunately, a sample is provided to help you 
decide if the subscription is worthwhile. 

http://www.garzarelli.com


*4. A. B. WATLEY

This week's brokerage tip is A. B. Watley, a brokerage for the 
Internet-based power trader. Watley competes with the likes of 
Datek Online, featured in a previous tip. Matching Datek's $10 
commission for most trades and advertising lightning-quick 
trade executions, Watley goes Datek one better in its 
attractive and efficient screen designs. 

Watley's premier product is UltimateTrader, a Windows software 
package that interfaces with the brokerage server and 
facilitates market research and participation. At the highest 
of its four levels, UltimateTrader presents real-time quotes, 
real-time portfolio positions, order entry, price alarms, 
streaming tickers, charts and technical indicators, time/sales 
tables, and Level II quotes from Nasdaq market makers. This 
much service costs some money (up to $300 per month), but less 
macho investors can enjoy regular brokerage accounts, too. 
Watley specializes in tailoring accounts to an investor's 
level of need. 

http://www.abwatley.com


*5. THE TAO OF TEMPLETON

Sir John Templeton is one of America's greatest investors, a 
man who practically invented mutual funds. In his eighties 
today, he remains spry, active, and opinionated. Retired, 
Templeton dedicates himself to his deeply spiritual roots, 
funding organizations that in his view support the growth of 
humanity's inner nature. As an investor, Sir John suggested 
that individuals follow their own path, avoid flocking with the 
herd, buy what others are selling, and sell when market 
optimism is at its height. 

Templeton's Maxims are a series of 22 aphorisms about investing 
and working the markets. Presented as the Tao of Templeton by 
Worth Magazine, they are a good way to start any market day. 
Filled with the wisdom of long experience, these maxims remain 
as timely now as ever. 

http://www.worth.com/articles/D70318S.html


*6. NAIC

The National Association of Investors Corporation (NAIC) was 
founded in 1951 by four investment clubs in Detroit. Still 
headquartered in Michigan, it has grown into an advocacy 
organization providing information to individual investors and 
investing clubs. Its goal is to create successful, lifetime 
investors guided by principles of traditional investing. NAIC's 
philosophy may seem placid in the information age of online 
trading and individual access to institutional investing perks, 
but this site's attitude is refreshing for that very reason. 

NAIC touts investing regularly each month, reinvestment of all 
earnings and dividends, growth stocks, and diversification. 
Sound like investment advice from a past generation? It still 
works today--in most cases, better than lunging in and out of 
markets with the power tools of contemporary trading. The home 
page of the NAIC site is stocked with a wealth of features, 
event notices, and data. It's definitely worth a visit, and 
probably a bookmark. 

http://www.better-investing.org


*7. WALL STREET NET

"The Pipeline to Deals, Dollars and Doers!" That's the site 
tagline. Wall Street Net is all about The Deal: IPOs, secondary 
offerings, add-ons, and other corporate maneuvers managed and 
funded by investment banks. Reading this site is an education 
in terminology and a glimpse into the back rooms of high 
finance. A search engine lets you choose an investment bank, an 
instrument type (debt, equity, bank notes, etc.), an industry 
category, a date range, and other categories--then the engine 
searches for Done Deals with the selected criteria. 

Wall Street Net is strictly for those interested in investment 
banking from the inside out. The site provides an overview of 
the deal-making action, particularly in the Week in Review 
section and the Featured Financials. The search engine helps 
you get a grip on which banks are involved in what types of 
deals. The learning curve is a bit steep at Wall Street Net, 
but there's nothing wrong with a challenge now and then. 

http://www.netresource.com/wsn/


*8. IPO RESOURCE PAGE

We have been living through booming times for Initial Public 
Offerings (IPOs) for the past few years. There have been ups 
and downs, as Wall Street has chilled its enthusiasm for new 
issues from time to time. But such cooling-off periods have 
been temporary. During an extended bull market marked by 
rampant technological innovation and the emergence of new 
business models, new public offerings continue to catch the 
imagination and speculative capital of large and small 
investors alike. How can you keep abreast of IPO research sites 
on the fast-moving scene of emerging public companies? 

The IPO Resource Page, created and maintained by a professor in 
the Anderson Graduate School of Management at UCLA, is a 
tremendous link site for IPO locations around the Net. From 
text resources to databases, from press release sites to 
nonprofit information resources, this page links you to a 
wealth of research opportunities. The big-name IPO sites, like 
IPO.com and IPO Central, are here too. It's like a well-stocked 
IPO bookmark folder. 

http://linux.agsm.ucla.edu/ipo/


*9. TRADEWELL

With the motto, "Institutional service for the individual 
investor," TradeWell seems to be right in step with the 
investing revolution that is democratizing the playing field 
for individuals. Unfortunately, the Web service, called 
MAXXinvest, may be too fancy for its own good. Graphics slow 
down page loads, and they're not even very attractive. (The 
navigation sidebars are a retina-scalding mix of colors.) The 
account demo is a botched presentation that compulsively opens 
new browser windows and sometimes stalls midstream. 

TradeWell offers a variety of trading methods, including broker 
assisted, and decent stock commissions. Option commissions are 
quite attractive. TradeWell provides a selection of mutual 
funds and foreign (non-American) equities. Fixed-income 
transaction fees (T-bills and municipal funds, mainly) and 
margin interest rates are competitive, if unspectacular. A site 
redesign would help put TradeWell's services in a better light. 

http://www.trade-well.com


*10. PENNY STOCK PRIMER

Cheap stock is attractive, especially in a bull market. When it 
seems like everything is going up, it's tempting to load up on 
inexpensive shares with visions of cleaning up when they attain 
multiples. Penny stocks are defined classically as stocks 
costing less than $5. Many companies trade for literal pennies, 
with stock prices less than $1. But the sad truth is that the 
gains of this bull market are consolidated mostly in expensive 
blue chips. Furthermore, a stock's "cheapness" should properly 
be gauged by its P/E Ratio, not the absolute cost of a share. 

For these reasons and others (not least of which is the degree 
of fraud that infests penny-stock companies as a whole), 
investing in ultra-cheap stock is fraught with risk. The office 
of the Secretary of State in Missouri has placed a booklet 
online that educates investors on the definitions, dynamics, 
and dangers of penny-stock speculation. It's a good read, 
covering related issues such as market-maker pricing and profit 
margins in the trading game. Manipulation, IPOs, and warning 
signs are discussed. The document is not a diatribe against 
small-stock speculation, but it does lay out the truth with 
good, clear information about the issues. 

http://mosl.sos.state.mo.us/sos-sec/penstk.html
