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The following is an extract from a very interesting article, which was written by Tim Bradshaw for Investors Chronicle in May 2007, discussing the impact of the web on investing.

Tracking portfolios

Of course, services that allow individuals to track their spending or portfolios aren’t new, and share clubs have long been a simple way for investors to pool their collective wisdom. Still, taking these services and software packages online allows access to a much wider spread of people, and can even deepen ties between smaller groups.

For example, Beverley Meekings, treasurer of the Fyg Leaf investment club (a former ProShare club of the year), is moving her investment information from a desktop application to www.timetotrade.co.uk, which has just expanded its individual portfolio and charting tools to encompass online investment club account management. “It’s a real relief that everyone in the club can see what’s happening and contribute, rather than just me doing it once a month,” she says. She already uses a stockbroker online account, but says Timetotrade gives a much better picture of what’s happening within the club. “It collates all our information into one place - such as any news stories that we might forget in the monthly meeting.”

Timetotrade’s portfolio management and charting tools for individuals release traders from their PCs with e-mail or text-message alerts. Founder Dary McGovern set up the system after being stung by one too many market falls when away on holiday. “I looked at the historical charts and knew that if I had seen them I would have got out,” he says. That’s when he realised that web-based charting is easier for day traders to access than desktop-based software. He also says that Timetotrade’s tools, which include technical analysis filters such as RSI, MACD, deltas and stochastics, are designed to be more accessible to beginners, without sacrificing sophistication. Rivals tend to be modelled on professional tools, which “assume the user has time to sit and watch them all day,” he explains. “Our alerts allow people to get on with their lives.”

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