Best Sources of Free Online Investment Information

Not long ago timely access to investment information was the edge that gave some market participants, namely big institutions, an unfair advantage. New regulations and the Internet have leveled the playing field. Now everyone gets the same information at the same time. The edge is in how fast or how well one can use it. The Internet also lowered entry barriers and access costs: anyone can say anything online and share it with the whole world. And just about ANYONE does. The problem is no longer access to timely information but how to find it in an ever expanding cyberspace.

Opinions vs. Facts
Most of the investment/trading information on the web are opinions. Opinions in this business are cheap. It's more important to be able to make your own judgments based on material fact: company earnings releases and announcements, SEC filings, FOMC statements. All of that information is available free on investment news sites, like Yahoo! Finance, company websites, the SEC or FOMC. Many active trading platforms come with free news feeds. So far, so good.

Learning How to Trade
There are three key ingredients: good sources, good mentors, and practice. And here's where I think the Internet is becoming more of a problem than a solution: there is just too much information out there, too many sources.

There are many good books on investing/trading, probably even more sites that list the good books or promise to teach you the craft. Whom do you trust?

Learning from a successful trader can be very effective but where do you find one? Anyone can claim that they are good these days - how do you verify the claim? Yahoo! Groups used to be THE place to be if you wanted to link up with good traders but now everyone has a place for investors/traders to hang out: portals, brokers, financial publications and financial/trading websites. Plus, there is no shortage of self-proclaimed gurus peddling their own services. How do you connect with a person who really knows what he or she is doing and who doesn't mind sharing that knowledge? Where do you even find one?

There is no substitute for practice; this is something you do on your own. But what if you want honest feedback? Where?

No Easy Answers
There are no easy answers because the Internet has caused what I call a "fiefdomization" of online investing: a limited talent pool is spreading thinner and thinner across an ever expanding online universe, and finding good information is becoming increasingly difficult. Even names and places you trust are no guarantee as they usually carry too much information and too many opinions that cover a full gamut of options form the rosiest to the gloomiest. Plus, there are news feeds, stock picking services, chats, blogs, tweets...

In a way, I think we've come full circle: good information is hard to come by and word of mouth is still the best source.