I thought I would share with you what my broker terminal looks like. The screen below is a direct feed provided by Reuters through their BridgeChannel software. In the morning this is the first thing I load up on my terminal at work to survey where the market is going to open and to survey what’s been happening in the overnight markets, etc. The software is very versatile and can provide more data and types of analyses than you can imagine (I still don’t think I’ve seen every screen). All data is provided in real time.
The particular screen shot I took shows a chart on BCE. The drop-down menus on the left can be expanded and can bring up screens such as earnings estimates, mutual fund ownership of the security in question, option prices, RSI spreads, pre-market activity… even the price! :)
This is only one of about 44 different programs I use on a regular basis for research, analysis, adminstration, order entry, etc. And each one has a password… ugh!
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Click on the picture below to enlarge it for a closer look.
Interesting, out of your 44 programs would this be the one you’ll recommend for DIY investors (student in particular) or could there be a better one for a better price?
I certainly use this the most as the other programs might only be used once a year. Some of them are very narrow in scope.
As a DIY, you can get a healthy amount of research and data through your online broker can you not? If not, there are data subscription packages for around $10/month I believe, but I will defer to other readers as I use BridgeChannel at no direct cost to me, but I imagine it is not cheap.
Some of the other programs are comparative tools (i.e. for dissecting portfolios, analyzing costs, looking up news, analyst reports, etc.) It’s easy to get lost in the data.
The 80/20 rule certainly applies: 20% of the data/graphs/charts will tell you 80% of the story.
It is nice to see a screen like that.I do not have a brokerage account but I am working on this right now and maybe that’s what I am going to see in the future.
BTW, I have received your wonderful book.
Thank you very much.