Guide
to managing
personal finances with a PC, finance software and internet resources
This page was written
by Christopher Spry. I
am finding out how to manage efficiently in the UK my
personal finances, including my bank accounts, investments and taxes, using my PC, finance software and
internet. Here, I am recording the software and online resources that I have found useful and which others, in the same position, might
like to consider. I conclude with a list
of the online institutions which I use to manage my assets. I also have
another page with links to more general finance resources.
Index:
It is now possible for anyone with
a PC and internet access to record, monitor, analyze and optimize the management
of their personal
finances. The individual takes control. This avoids many pitfalls that
can lead to unnecessary losses and expenditure, such as high charges from
institutional and advisory financial services which used to be the preferred or
only way
to manage personal finances. My aim is to manage my financial assets in the UK
using my PC and internet resources in ways that allow me to optimize them. I wish to:
(a)
Record and update bank, credit card and other personal accounts, investments and other assets
(b) Obtain information on investment
strategied and
options
(c) Purchase and sell
investments sensibly
(d) Analyze the properties and value of
my personal assets
(e) Submit accurate tax returns, including the tax benefits available to me
These are the options and ways that
I am doing this::
Personal
finance software
This is software to record income
and expenditure in personal accounts and manage financial and other assets:
- 'Money
2000 deluxe' from Microsoft is the main competitor for ' Quicken'. The two
programs are compared
by CNET "If you are using Quicken 99, stick with what you
have; there is little reason to upgrade to 'Quicken 2000.' But both current 'Money'
users and anyone who has not yet turned to the computer for financial help
should [buy] Money 2000 Deluxe."
- 'Quicken
2000 deluxe' from Intuit is the most commonly used software of this type. It
provides a way to enter, update and manage many
different accounts, investments and assets. Each transaction has to be entered
individually except for NatWest customers, who can transfer their account data
directly into 'Quicken'. This program is one of the longest established and it is maintained with annual
updates. This is the software that I use.
Investment
information and advice
Many online resources provide
information about companies and can graphs their share prices with dates and
times. I can both find out the financial health and financial market view of
companies and chart their progress to guide me in making investment decisions.
Here are some I have looked at:
- 'AAA
Investment Guide' with a guide to financial planning and ways to save
and invest money. Details are only available after paying £30-£50.
- 'APCIMS'
directory of advisory (reactive and proactive) and discretionary stockbrokers.
- BBC 'Market
Data' financial news and information updated continually.
- 'Bloomberg'.
Financial portal.
- 'Charles
Schwab' interactive charts of UK and US equities, quotes, news, industry analysis and intraday stock
screeners and retirement
planner.
- 'CompuServe'
portfolio tracking service available after free registration.
- 'DigitalLook'
links to information on UK and US shares and finance. Register for free access to
their on-line and email share information services.
- 'Financial
Information Net Directory', (FIND). Financial portal by 'Omnium
Communications'.
- 'Finsight'
After free registration, there is access to 'company search and lookup,
latest indices figures, 15 minute delayed prices, closing prices for top 400 or
all companies, downloadable closing prices, your portfolio, price history
charts, intra-day price fluctuations, last 10 trades, high, low and trading
volume data'.
- FITV
European City news, 'hot stocks' fastest moving large company shares.
- FMLX.
Financial portal with stock market listings by 'Finance Media'.
- 'FT
YourMoney'. Financial portal to online information and resources by 'FT
Personal Finance'.
- 'Hargreaves
Lansdown'. Online stockbroker. Free finance information and research facilities
for registered users, using
Wright's, Multex, Hoovers and FT.com.
- 'Hemscott.net'.
Financial portal by Hemmington Scott.
- 'iii
Ltd',
Financial portal by 'Interactive Investor International'.
- 'Market-eye' information for UK stock market
investors with 'Datastream/ICV' data and news, including Treasury stock.
- 'Mondaq.com'
provides free world-wide legal, financial & regulatory information.
- 'Moneynet'.
Financial portal.
- 'Moneyweb'.
Financial portal by Ian Dickson.
- 'Moneyworld'.
Financial portal by 'Moneyextra plc'.
- 'RiskGrade'.
An open and transparent benchmark to measure ' risk' in
financial assets.
- 'The
Motley Fool UK', news, discussions, quotes and data, portfolio updates
and investment advice. It takes the view that intelligent investors need not
use expensive 'independent investment advisors' now that information and
advice is available on internet. The site can be used to find an 'EPIC' abbreviation for a share.
It has advice on investing in US stock and
US tax. This is the financial portal that I use most often and whose advice
matches, in many ways, my views on investment strategies.
- 'This
is Money'. Financial portal
by 'Associated New Media'
(ANM).
- 'UK-iNvest.com'.
Financial portal.
- 'Updata'.
Financial portal.
- 'Yahoo!
UK & Ireland Finance'. Financial portal with quotes including for London, Paris and
Frankfurt stock exchanges
Online
investment (stock) purchasing
An increasing number of financial
transactions can now take place online and they are generally cheaper than when
carried out by letter, fax or phone. 'The Motley Fool' has advice
and tables of
comparative details about UK online 'execution-only' internet
stockbrokers. Most internet
stockbrokers hold shares in nominee accounts and charge annual fees, dealing
charges and sometimes other fees, so their charges should be compared with
traditional stockbrokers who are becoming more competitive.
- 'Charles
Schwab' online 'execution-only' internet
stockbroker, dealing in UK and US
stocks. I use it.
- 'Egg' online 'execution-only' internet
stockbroker.
- 'iDealing'. online 'execution-only' internet
stockbroker. They have a low
annual charge for online dealing with a fixed £10 cost per trade.
- British Government stocks
(gilts), which can be bought directly
using the Registrar's Department brokerage
service and sometimes more cheaply through traditional stockbrokers.
Investment
analysis software
There is software to analyze and
chart shares in personal portfolios:
- ShareScope.
Ionic Information's UK share tracking and graphing software with news and
information on companies, directors and share indices. It costs £93.94 for the
software and free updates thereafter and £168.50/year to receive the daily
London Stock Exchange (LSE) end of day share data, news and information. It is noted for excellent customer
support. Support for foreign stocks and gilts is missing but may be introduced in 2001.
This is the analysis software that I use.
- 'Investor
Ease' software with information to manage portfolios.
- 'Updata'.
'Updata Trader Pro' and 'Updata Trader' stock graphing software.
Tax
The UK
'Inland Revenue' has detailed information on UK tax issues, including capital
gains tax (CGT). Note 'taper relief' for retained assets, means that
only 60% of a gain is chargeable when held for 10 years or more.
Information is provided by the 'Inland Revenue' on Inheritance
tax, 'self
assessment' and tax
forms can be downloaded.
My
internet banking and asset management resources
There are few distinctions now, from
the customer's viewpoint, between banks, mortgage companies and other types of
institution that provide current, savings and investment accounts, except in the
range and quality of services that they offer. The internet revolution is
altering the way that they work. Fortunately, many of the major Banks and
Institutions that provide personal accounts, have started to give customers
online access to their accounts, but 'MasterCard' and 'Visa' do not allowed
customers to view or manage their accounts online yet. I use the following
online financial resources:
- American
Express ( AMEX) UK credit card with no set limit. Accounts can be
managed online.
- Charles
Schwab for low cost execution-only share dealings.
- 'Egg' UK
credit card with a set limit. It is the only site I know in the UK
where credit card transactions can be managed online.
- 'Lloyds
TSB' for a personal bank account with online management.
- 'Nationwide
for a personal bank account, called a 'FlexAccount' and a cash account,
called 'i-Savings' currently paying me 7% gross
interest. Both accounts are linked and I manage them easily online. They provide
excellent resources for saving and managing cash up to £50,000.
There are other large UK banking
institutions with good online facilities, including:
Go to the 'home
page'
© cspry@sghms.ac.uk.
Department of Biochemistry & Immunology, St. George's Hospital Medical
School, London SW17 0RE, UK. Phone +44 20-8725 5819; fax +44 20-8725 5821.
This page was last updated on
10 December 2001 11:27:11.