MSN Money

Do you have a specific place that you like to visit if you hear about a stock and you want to look it up quickly?  A place that you go to first for general information on a stock?  When I jump on the internet I always to to MSN Money.com.  I think that this may be because MSN is the first place I ever looked at stock information and now it is like an old friend.  I like the StockScouter ranking that MSN has.  Although I would not invest in a stock just based on the StockScouter number or report, it does tell me if the stock is worth looking into generally.  If I like a stock and the StockScouter gives it a low rating, then it gives me something to look into and think about.

The general look of the actual quote page is nice on MSN.  It has an easy to read format, it is organized, relatively easy to navigate and the general information about the stock is right on the main quote page.  I like the small chart that they have that is click-able and once clicked on takes you to a chart page with some more customization options and details.  Under the small chart there are articles relating to the stock.  This is a great feature that MSN shares with the general stock information sites I visit.  When viewing MSN Money pages I am not overwhelmed with advertising or pop up ads, no one likes pop up adds!  This is a great feature of the site and something that can ruin the experience of other financial sites.

MSN has good articles and columnist content.  The columnists, led for the most part by Jim Jubak, do a good job and have some well written and informative content on the site.  The market update of market action is concise and easy to read from briefing.com.  I normally read the market update once the markets have closed for the day.  It does update through out the day which is a nice feature.  Commodity prices, currency rates and world markets are also easy to access on MSN.  Another big plus is that MSN keeps track of the last stock quotes that you have looked up.  This information is kept under the Recent Quotes tab on the middle right hand side of the screen.  There is even a customizable Watch List tab.

The downsides to MSN start with the portfolio manager which is okay, but not as good as the managers on other sites in my opinion.  That being said it has improved over the years and it is free, which is essential.  I would like to see the P/E information on the stock quote page up above by the price instead of having to scroll down to view it.  The charts on MSN.com are rather small and basic, if you like technical analysis you will need to go else where.  The charts and customizations offered aren't bad, but they are basic.  Finally, if you want to read a transcript of the companies past earning reports, just go to Seeking Alpha.  The reports and company filings are a genuine pain to view.  I think that MSN could improve by highlighting and stream lining this information for its readers.

Overall I give MSN Money a B.  It is an old favorite and has improved over the years.  The link to MSN Money stocks is listed below.

http://money.msn.com/stocks/