Stock Market Research and Portfolio Websites

Finding GOOD research information about specific stocks for amateur investors like myself I have found to be difficult, without spending thousands of dollars on services typically used by professionals So I thought why shouldn't we share our experiences and try to sort the wheat from the charf. Hopefully finding a little gem which does not cost an arm and a leg

 

The first website I suggest is probably the most obvious and that is Yahoo. The things it has going for it are;
+ It is free
+ Data is received with a 20 minute time delay but appears to be accurate
+ The views can be customised with a reasonable selection covering Basic Information, Details of Bids, Fundamentals, Estimates and Portfolio. Be aware that although listed not all view categories are working.
+ It works with most stocks on the ASX and international markets.
+ You can have a large number of portfolios
+ You can access historical share price data.
+ Data can be exported out in CSV format.
+ Spreadsheets can link to Yahoo's data.
+ It has a smart phone app you can link to your portfolios
+ It has a basic charting function

- I have found many errors with calculation of ratios so I would advise not to rely on it
- In theory it captures news about a stock but I find it useless.
- It has alerts but it is not working
- It does not handle listed company options well Eg WLEO.AX data is 5 weeks old
- It has a separate Watchlist function with the ability to enter a price, hi and lo - but I could not get it to work so I use portfolio function for watching because I can enter a value and compare the price entered to the market price.

Here is a tip. I have about 20 LICs which I monitor in one portfolio looking for opportunities to buy at a discount to NTA. Around the 12 of each month I look up the NTA for the previous end of month and enter the value as 1 share owned. At anytime over the next 30 days I can quickly review portfolio of LICs for discounts to NTA.

In theory you can also look up financial information but I find it inaccurate and useless

Overall OK for portfolio monitoring but very week on the financial aspects

 

The next one is Google Finance. The things it has going for it are;
+ It is free
+ Data is received with a 20 minute time delay but appears to be accurate
+ It works with most stocks on the ASX and international markets.
+ You can have a large number of portfolios
+ Data can be exported out in CSV format.
+ It has a smart phone app you can link to your portfolios
+ It has a basic charting function
+ It links to Reuters for comprehensive financial data that appears to be accurate

- In theory it captures news about a stock but I find it useless.
- It does not have alerts
- It does not handle listed company options.
- Views are not as comprehensive as Yahoos

Poor on the portfolio aspect but has link to useful financial data

 

Here is a website I find useful: www.investorpa.com/

Using this site, you can create ASX announcement alters of your favourite stocks in real time. You can enter up to 100 stocks and any time there is an announcement, you will be a sent an email. There is also a "push messaging" service for mobiles but I did not sign up for that.

Completely free to use. No cross-selling, no spam or crap. Easy to sign up. Apparently was set up by an investor frustrated with how difficult it was to access timely ASX announcements without having to check all the time. Works flawlessly for me.

Not affiliated with the website in any capacity whatsoever. Do your own research and due diligence.

 

The next one is NAB Trade

+ It is free (ish)
+ I am not sure but it looks like data is NOT subject to the usual delay
+It has free alerts in the watch list facility
+ It has basic charting
+ It handles company options
+ It has access to excellent financial data - Supplied by Thomson Reuters
+ It has access to the most comprehensive research I have seen, supplied by Thomson Reuters, Morningstar, Trading Central and Columbine plus NABTrades own research from their own Wealth Hub Securities

What I don't like;
- It has a watchlist/portfolio function is awful bordering on useless.
- The profile information in research is a waste of space

Unlike most brokers NAB Trade do not have regular news letter or email service to clients
Summary
+Good for doing research on specific stocks
- Nearly useless for monitoring a portfolio or prospective investment list.

 

Next one is Commsec
+ It is free (ish)
+ The watchlist/portfolio function is much better than NABs but nowhere near as good as Yahoo's
+ Data is NOT subject to the usual delay
+It has free alerts in the watch list facility
+ It has a moderate charting capability
+ It handles company options
+ It has access to financial data - Supplied by Morningstar
+ More detailed research is available for a fee

What I don't like;
- You can build a research profile of a stock but it takes a lot of effort to do this.
- The research is not as comprehensive as NABs

They have a daily report which is emailed out, weekly recommendations and have an excellent video series conducted by Tom Piotrowski

Summary
+A satisfactory allrounder but not outstanding in any one aspect.

 

Next one is ANZ Share trading
+ It is free (ish)
+ The watchlist/portfolio function is basic much better than NABs but nowhere near as good as Yahoo's
+ Data is NOT subject to the usual delay
+It has free alerts in the watch list facility
+ It has the best charting capability in the free category
+ It handles company options
+ It has access to basic financial data and profile - Supplied by Morningstar

What I don't like;

- Much of the research services offering (Wise Owl, FatProphets, Intelligent Investor, Morningstar) is just bait to take up a subscription with the provider
- The research is weak

Summary
Good charting, OK basic portfolio/watchlist and basic research

 

The next is Bell Direct

+ It is free (ish)
+ The watchlist/portfolio function is really basic and not of much use. Except for one feature, you can have your watchlist and the course of trades emailed to you at the end of each day
+It has an extensive range of free email alerts but SMS alerts are charged at $0.55 which I think is expensive
+ It has very good charting capability, equivalent to ANZ's in the free category
+ The watchlist It handles company options
+ It has access to basic financial data - Supplied by Morningstar.
+ They have their own research capability which also covers many mid size companies
+ They have a report called buysell signals which gives a rundown of the market activity for most stocks. It looks robo generated but I find it surprisingly useful.

What I don't like;
- The watchlist/portfolio feature
- The recommendations have a charting bent to them which I find to be as relevant as voodoo black magic.
- Company profiling needs to be compiled from many screens

Summary
Good charting, better than average research, particularly in the smaller end of the market, weak watchlist/portfolio.

 

I like to review marketwatch.com for general state of the markets and financial events. I also subscribe to The Chartist which is run by Nick Radge who is based in Noosa.

There's a lot of snake oil in the world of financial markets just as there is in the world of property. Nick is a stand up guy with no BS or hyperbole - his track record is readily available and extensive.

My favourite free charting service is tradingview.com which now offers ASX as well as global markets.

 

Here are some sample research reports from NAB. Note that I have intentionally selected a small cap which would not normally be covered by analysts

 

Here are two reports from Bell. Once again about a small cap not normally covered by analysts.

 

A watchlist I use to monitor LIC premium and discounts to NTA