THE ONLINE INVESTOR: LEVELLING THE INFORMATION PLAYING FIELD

PETER TEMPLE

This book aims to help private investors to gain access to cheap tools that can help their investment performance through better information and, in so doing, perhaps even beat the professionals at their own game. It provides a guide for the online investor updated to 1996.

The first three chapters offer a basic introduction to the principles of the Internet and online investment. Temple makes a number of points in respect of the informational needs of the private investor when compared with the information that is available to the 'professional' (city/institutional) investor. Areas where the professional has the advantage, according to the author, include the software used for technical analysis, share prices, fundamental data, especially company accounts, economic and company news, and dealing. Furthermore the professional investor has the advantage of easy relationships with the companies in which they invest.

The real content starts in chapter four (out of eleven) with a review of 'Online investment news and discussion'. It discusses aspects of Bulletin Board and Usernet Newsgroups together with email lists, the various online news services that are available to the private investor, such as Clarinet, and online newspapers which can provide significant amounts of information at no cost other than call time.

A short chapter explores the effective use of the web including brief coverage of the major search engines together with a number of potential useful sites, for example, Moneyworld and Sheila Webber's business information site.

In a review of online dealing, the author notes that UK brokers are beginning to take the Internet seriously but says that little online dealing is currently available in the UK compared to the United States. This in many ways reflects the nature of the UK market where individual as opposed to institutional share dealing is less active than in the US.

Sophisticated investors will of course require the ability to manipulate the data that they obtain from whatever sources, and a short chapter reviews the method for locating and downloading software which can perform analysis. Additional information sources to be found on the web are also covered (exchanges, governments and regulators online as well as corporate sector online). Two chapters review a number of sites in the applicable sectors - it is difficult here to be over critical of gaps in the coverage of useful sites currently available as developments happen so rapidly in the field.

Another chapter covers internet information that is available for other aspects of personal finance, for instance insurance and banking.

The shortness of the abbreviation lists and glossaries should be noted whilst the list of Useful Internet Addresses runs to some 260 addresses in categories from news and email lists via software sources to lists of corporate web sites in both the UK and the US. There is also a very short bibliography.

Working in the information business and having both personal and professional interests in the financial world, it is difficult to judge the value of a volume aimed at the 'lay' public. This one provides a very basic level of introduction to the Internet and a varying degree of depth to its primary subject area, Investments-Computer Network Resources (LCSH). The public may find it useful although I feel that both the sophisticated computer user and private investors who read the professional press such as Investors Chronicle and the Financial Times, would probably only save little time following the ideas presented in this and similar publications.

DUNCAN J McKAY

Technical leader (Information Management)

Amerada Hess Limited.

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