Investors can set up strategies such as "buy this stock if the price falls below $25" and the price of its rival rises above $35. Zignals sends alerts to the users' devices - PC, cell phone, pager etc. - when triggering events occur so that the investor doesn't have to stay glued to a screen. The service also hopes to help democratize the art of investing by letting investors post their strategies and even the specific rules they used so that others can learn from them.
Zignals offers a variety of online services that are set to transform the world of financial investment by democratizing the investment services that are available to the active trader in the financial markets and by providing access to a financially-savvy online network which shares its own independently-rated investment strategies. Zignals was established in partnership with Microsoft and other investors, and has developed its services using Microsoft IP-protected technology.
Michael Moriarty, manager of Enterprise Ireland's innovation department, says that innovation is about positive change, about adding value to customers and improving competitiveness.
He says that an example of a good innovative company is Zignals. This is a new start-up firm that provides online investment decision support to average investors. This type of advice was previously only available to the major customers of banks and stockbrokers.
September 2008 Print Edition
What attracted them to Zignals? I had to find out. The answer lies in the ability of the site to do things you usually have to pay for.
An unusual feature, especially for a free website, is the ability to draw trendlines as well as channels and support lines.
Here's a chance to perhaps get some things on your wishlist and, best of all, it's free.
Zignals provides tools and customized services for investors to democratize online trading. Users can log on to create their own easy-to-use alerts, build custom charts using the intuitive charting application, and do deep technical analysis on their stocks and portfolios.
In short, Zignals levels the playing field for investors, giving them the tools and knowledge they need.
The Zignals site is beautifully designed. It uses Microsoft's Silverlight version 2 and recognition of their skills came in the form of being added to the Sliverlight.Net Showcase. Using Silverlight allows Zignals to provide their customers with a very usable and managable graphing interface. It's worth checking out to see what Zignals have achieved and to see the service they can provide.
With Cooliris style navigation and a modicum of filtering, one can ogle at a wall of user generated, annotated stock charts.
You have to hand it to Zignals, though. They certainly know how to make an impression.
I have found a free service from www.Zignals.com that notifies me in real-time instead of a 20 minute delay like other free services. Further, it allows alerts and simple backtesting for price channels and moving average crossing that are very good at alerting you to the big moves of the day. Give it a try and let me know what you think. I just started using it so I need to get more familiar with it and see if it fits my lifestyle. Very easy to use.