Smart Stops on the Web

Like E-Bay for 401(k)s

www.401kexchange.com

In contrast to e-bay.com, where sellers look for the highest bids for their wares, on Insight in Formation’s site, buyers look for the lowest bids from 401(k) service providers. Buyers can get price quotes anonymously from up to 10 service providers and tap into ratings reports compiled from surveys customers have filled out. These are updated quarterly and provide a sample of each service provider’s customers.

A Lesson in Investing

www.numeraire.com

This site, Global Value Investing with Stock Valuation, provides detailed information about value investing, including the processes of stock screening, selection and pricing. Other topics cover bonds, hedging and securities. A glossary of value investing terms is also available.

Pick a Stock—Any Stock

www.stockpickers.net

Stockpickers.net monitors financial sites to find the best stock selections and compiles them in four different categories: recently added sites, day trading and short-term stock picks, medium- to long-term picks and small- and micro-cap picks. Links to international trading sites, financial news, related press releases and message boards are also included.

An Investment Research Site

www.multexnet.com

This site gives users access to investment research, discussion groups and downloadable documents on current market concerns. Articles written by financial analysts on hot topics are featured in the Analyst Corner. Professionals, as categorized by the site, are offered a free trial membership.

More on Investment Research

www.powerize.com

This site offers free membership and access to national and international news reports and articles on topics such as investment, retirement funds and personal financial planning. Also included is a stock ticker, a business finder and a search engine that lets you look up data by company or industry name, specific term or date range.

An Investment Association

www.aimr.com

The Association for Investment Management and Research’s (AIMR) site provides information about its Chartered Financial Analyst program and continuing education offerings. The site also outlines and discusses AIMR’s four guiding principles—standards, ethics, knowledge and professionalism.

GENERAL INTEREST SITES

Go to GoTo.com

www.goto.com

This search engine is extremely user friendly and simple in its design, making it perfect for the novice. A query on the term “investment research” brought up 40 different results. Also useful is the format of the responses: The site name in boldface is followed by a paragraph describing the site’s offerings, with the hotlink on a separate line—making cutting and pasting a URL quick and efficient.

Search for Schools

www.searchedu.com

This search engine is dedicated to university sites and all things scholastic. A search of the Rutgers University site brought up over 200 URLs ranked in order of popularity using the most hits as the basis. Also included are links to online dictionaries, census and government information, calculators, converters and equations.

Free Resources

www.freeforum.com

This site offers access to a variety of free products—including magazines and newsletters—services and software for educational and career purposes and some just for fun. Topic headings include catalogs, entertainment, gaming, gardening, sales and marketing, small and home offices, sports and hobbies and travel.

Who’ll Start the Bidding at…?

www.bizbuyer.com

Free registration entitles users to compare price quotes from vendors for business products and services. Categories include office equipment and supplies, telecommunications, insurance and employee benefits as well as IT consulting, financial, Internet and legal services.

Extra! Extra! Download and Read All About It!

www.freecopy.net

This site, sponsored by the Article Research Association (ARA), offers free registration for users to download and reprint articles with an ARA byline. While few JofA readers need this service, accessing the articles for read-only purposes should prove interesting and, maybe, helpful. Topics include camping, health, sports and travel.

The Big Apple Online

www.citidex.com

This site offers an online Yellow Pages of New York’s cultural events, products and services. Its well-organized and alphabetical search engine makes looking up a business or service provider easy. Included here are New York street maps, airport and railroad schedules and theater and museum information.