A Guide to Online Investing Getting Started Choosing the right broker on the Internet isn't easy. Online brokers chart Researching companies online. Beware of online scams.

Features Diary of an online broker. The rush to invest online. Charles Schwab, one of the first online traders.

Sunday Columns Cash Flow: Finding personal finance information online Mutual Funds: Tracking information on mutual funds online. Investing: Glassman writes about trading stocks online.

By Richard Drezen
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, August 23, 1998; Page H2

You don't need a lot of money to research a company on the Internet. There are dozens of personal finance and investing sites that cater to individual investors.

Some are free. Others charge an annual or monthly subscription fee. Most offer current stock price quotes (free ones often are time-delayed; real-time quotes usually cost money) and are capable of graphing historic measures such as price-to-earnings ratios over time. Basic financial information is often available on a company's own World Wide Web site. Corporate news in general is ubiquitous online, but you often get only the headlines or short abstracts of stories for free. If you want a complete text, you may have to pay.

Ten sites featuring ease of use, functionality, practicality and economy.

Where to start? We've picked 10 sites with an emphasis on ease of use, functionality, practicality and economy. Keep in mind that the Internet is a dynamic enterprise and Web sites disappear regularly. The following locations, though, will probably be around for a while.

The old saying "you get what you pay for" rings true with a lot of the free information on the Internet, so caveat emptor.

Briefing.com (www.briefing.com) has only a small "introductory service" available for free. It offers market commentary, sector ratings, an economic calendar, stock quotes and charts. The rest of the service – including in-depth stock and bond analysis, corporate upgrades and downgrades, and economic commentary – is available by subscription.

The CNN Financial Network (www.cnnfn.com) provides a continuous "snapshot" of how various markets are doing each day. To check on a specific company, simply type in its ticker symbol for a profile.

The Investment FAQ (invest-faq.com) is the site for you if you have a general investing question you'd like to ask a broker. The site has answers to frequently asked questions in categories ranging from A to not quite Z. Under the "Advice" heading is a discussion on researching a company. The "Trading" section has a list of online brokers.

IPO Central (www.ipocentral.com) is where you'll find a list of current initial public offerings. A special feature is the "IPO Timetable," which provides comprehensive information on all U.S. IPOs filed electronically since May 6, 1996. Some analysis and news is included on a weekly basis.

The Motley Fool (www.fool.com) is designed for someone who wants to learn about investing and offers a "step-by-step" process that is relatively easy to follow. Often referred to as an "online co-op," it frequently solicits comments from investors and encourages interaction. The "Choosing a Discount Broker" forum is especially informative.

The Money Magazine Web site (www.money.com) has adapted much of the magazine's content into its online format. By looking under "Contents," you are provided with an extensive list of "tools" that allow you to find information on a specific company or go to chat centers to read about various investment topics that may be of interest to you. For example, a recent guest expert to one chat area spoke about the popularity of investment clubs and the practical considerations of starting one.

NASD Regulation (www.nasdr.com) is the regulatory arm of the National Association of Securities Dealers, the organization that separately runs the Nasdaq Stock Market. NASDR's Public Disclosure Program is intended to help investors in their selection of an individual broker or securities firm. Any disciplinary actions or securities law violations are noted in its database.

The Silicon Investor (www.techstocks.com) is frequently referred to as one of the best financial Internet sites, especially for high-tech stocks. Much of what is available here is free, including current stock quotes, financial data, technical charts and message boards. Some of the discussion forums are interactive.

TheStreet.com (www.thestreet.com) is written for the serious investor who is looking for breaking news and sophisticated, sassy discussion of market and corporate trends and events. Very little on the site is free.

The Wall Street Journal Interactive Edition (www.wsj.com) is available to subscribers to the print edition for $29 a year. Access to the Web site is $49 for nonsubscribers. Investors will find the "Briefing Book" section especially useful in researching companies.