Great New Finance Apps And Market Data

Gee whiz! Kerry Langstaff of Xignite, a San Mateo data supplier, wrote about cheap financial applications using its market data, existing or forthcoming. On-line investors can use Xignite to cut costs. Here are some on-line newbies:

*Motif Investing (Rancho Cordova, CA) uses crowd-sourcing to allow investors to create a “motif”, a group of up to 30 securities which can be published on the website for others to trade. A package trades in real time for only $9.95/per trade and the motif-creator earns a royalty. CEO is Hardeep Walia, a turban-wearing Wharton MBA, formerly with Microsoft and a member of the Finra small-firm advisory board backed by a team of investment pros. Contact: [email protected] or 1-855 586 6843;

*Robinhood Financial will offer buy trades at zero dollar commission via web or mobile devices and at $10 if you need telephone help. Sells are at the SEC minimum of .0224/$1000 and a Finra trading activity fee of .000119—both rounded up to the nearest penny, alas subject to change without notice. The future program has signed up over 375,000 potential customers. Sign up to an account linked to mine at https://www.robinhood.com/?ref=VLexdV;

*8Securities.com offers market research and social networking along with trading of 15,000 US and Hong Kong securities for $8.88 (US). This is cheaper than the US$9.99 e-trade commission when I buy HK shares. It all beats local prices atHSBC and Bank of China. The service was founded by chairman Mathias Helleu, a son of the creative director of Chanel perfumes, an e-trade veteran. Helleu started e-trade's pricier Hong Kong brokerage. 8securities users can trade HKEx-listed securities they follow via Xignite at 0.08% with a HK$50 minimum. This is beer rather than champagne or Chanel territory;

*Kapitall in NYC has broken firmly with Karl Marx. It is a teaching site for investors wanting to play the market using a $100,000 practice portfolios to learn to become “Kapitallists”, share “playground” ideas with buddies, and win prizes. It has a content provider called Kapitall Wire which puts out stock ideas, including the occasional American Depositary Receipt. I am creating a portfolio to compete in the sandbox. Sign up at https://kapitall.custhelp.com after which you get messages from Kapital Koncierge;

Global Investor, a UK magazine costing £850/yr or $1850/yr not related to this blog, last week published an article about how Global Depositary Receipts (GDRs) can be used for pump-and-dump schemes, market abuse, fraud, and money laundering. Its Anna Reitman reports that the gap in regulatory jurisdictions was used by an Indian firm, Pan Asia Advisors (headed by Arun Panchariya), to manipulate the prices of 6 Luxembourg-traded GDRs so insiders and brokerages could sell the lemons. He was fined by their SEC, The Securities and Exchange Board of India.

However, on appeal, Panchariya got the case thrown out on a split ruling on jurisdictional grounds although the SEBI is appealing to the Supreme Court. Panchariya moved to Dubai but there was banned from stock brokering. ADR expert John Geminario, quoted I the mag, sent me a copy of the article. He heads Global Securities Services Corp.