Invest Smart. Tap the web of financial information

If you thought only those living in large cities are tech savvy, think again. Chirag Kedia, 24, living in Bhagalpur in Bihar, leans heavily on various websites to learn all he can about the stocks he invests and trades in. He is not alone. When compared to a couple of decades ago, lay investors now have a hoard of information within reach, thanks to the internet. The websites deal with a swathe of finance-related topics. Here are some interesting sites that investors frequent.

For company fundas You need to understand the company’s financial performance before deciding on an investment. Most websites of companies have their annual reports uploaded. Since these contain a wealth of information on the company as well as the industry, these are primary sources that many savvy investors turn to.

The exchanges, BSE and the NSE, also carry annual reports of companies on their websites. Fundamental information is also provided in a format that enables easy comparison over a time period or with peers on exchange sites as well as a host of other sites.

Chirag Kedia prefers the website screener.in for performing his fundamental analysis. “The site provides data on stock returns, return on equity, sales growth, and so on, for many years, helping me to choose the company that shows consistency in performance.”

Ravi Shankar, a software engineer, working for an MNC in Seattle, now tracks not just Indian stocks but those listed in the US exchanges as well. He finds it useful to visit Google Finance or Yahoo Finance to look up the numbers of companies listed outside India.

Charting the markets There are many who wish to perform their own technical analysis as well before buying a stock. After all, the timing of your buys can make a big difference to your returns, if you are game for some risk and do not wish to follow the SIP route.

Raminder Anand, AVP, Master Trust, who loves to build algo solutions in equity, commodity and forex market, often visits a site called icharts.in .

“It allows me to view the price movement of a chart and do technical analysis by using various indicators such as the relative strength index, the rate of change oscillator, moving averages and so on,” says he.

The BSE and the NSE websites too provide basic technical analysis tools, including live intra-day charts. The exchange sites are also useful in getting information on option and future prices.

Are there any special websites that can be used for options trading? “I frequently visit a website called marketcalls.in ,” says Raminder. “It gives strategies that are helpful in trading.” For fundamental information, he too prefers screener.in .

For those who want to dabble in derivatives in the US, Ravi recommends tradingview.com . “Another site that can help those trading in options in the US is optionshouse.com ,” adds Ravi.

The news trail Following the news is, of course, imperative for those who are into investing and trading. Besides the more popular local and international websites for news, investors these days are veering towards following the news on mobile apps and twitter.

Chirag finds it useful to track news through Twitter by following newspapers and news channels on Twitter. This makes news available to him before it even hits the websites. He also scans news through newspaper apps.

If you are one of those trading from the comfort of your home, being part of an online discussion forum can come in handy for clearing your doubts and for exchange of views. Traderji.com is one such forum that seasoned traders visit often.

The macro trackers Then there are many who follow a top-down investment strategy. Keeping track of macros, identifying changes in economic trends and acting on them is important to such bunch.

Professor R Srinivasan from the Department of Econometrics, University of Madras recommends the economist.com for the macro buffs.

The fact that issues discussed there cut across disciplines appeal to him. Among Indian websites, Srinivasan likes ideasforindia.in . He says that the special feature of this website is the fact that technical research papers are presented in a simplified, easy-to-read manner for the lay reader.

Raw data on domestic and global economy can be obtained from sites such as the IMF, World Bank, Reserve Bank of India, CSO (Central Statistics Office) and websites of various ministries. Some databases such as census data and NSSO surveys can be purchased for a nominal sum.

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