Investing News - November 2001

To better protect its customers from check fraud, ASAP Checks has made comprehensive security features standard across its entire line of checks for popular software such as Quicken, QuickBooks, and Microsoft Money. This bundle of security features widens the gap over those of traditional checks sources. The frightening reality is that anyone who writes checks is at greater risk than ever. The Federal Reserve Board estimates that check fraud losses exceed $10 billion every year. ASAP's most recent features are TouchGuard (in which color-change ink is used so that anyone can test the authenticity of the check without special equipment) and Toner Grip (a special coating is used in the check paper for those who print their checks on laser printers, making it difficult to remove the toner). Other features include void Pantograph (a special pattern of dots that when copied or scanned on some devices reveals the word "Void"), microprinting (a border containing print that is so tiny it requires magnification to see and is very difficult to reproduce), reactive inks (that make it evident when someone uses chemicals and solvents to alter the check), and embedded fluorescent fibers (which glow under a black light).

ASAP Checks, Forms & Supplies, 13 Bethune St., #190, Alexandria Bay, NY 13607-0190, 888 852-4325, 613 382-8000, fax 613 382-8322, info@asapchecks.com, www.ASAPChecks.com

Top Financial Planners Nationwide At Your Fingertips

Finding a financial planner or advisor you can trust can often be more challenging than actually planning your own finances. According to a recent study by Putnam, most Americans don't know how to go about finding financial help. Financial Finesse, a resource for unbiased financial information and education, offers easy-to-use and convenient resources to consumers looking for a professional financial planner. Via a searchable online database of hundreds of prescreened financial planners nationwide, individuals can search for a planner by geographical location, area of financial concern, and whether the planner is with a firm or operates independently. Consumers can read profiles on each planner that highlight their experience, area of expertise, and contact information. To search the planner database, log on to www.financialfinesse.com and click on the Financial Planner button at the top of the page. For those who don't have Internet access or prefer to speak with someone about locating a planner, Financial Finesse offers a toll-free line at 866 476-9377, ext. 4. In addition to helping consumers locate a planner, Financial Finesse provides a financial helpline service that consumers can call to receive unbiased, professional information for any financial concern. Called FF Answers, the subscription service is managed by Financial Finesse's network of planners and can be reached by dialing a toll-free hotline. To order this service, users can call 866 476-9377, ext. 3.

Financial Finesse, 360 Kansas St., San Francisco, CA 94103, 415 503-1250, fax 415 503-1258, info@financialfinesse.com, www.financialfinesse.com

Quicken.com Introduces E-mail And Wireless Delivery To Bring Key Investments Data To Multiple Platforms

Amid recent downturns in the US stock market, finding sound investment choices is harder than ever before. Intuit's e-finance site, Quicken.com, has launched several new features that offer consumers a set of resources to evaluate investment ideas and make confident financial decisions whether they are at home, at work, or on the road. Quicken.com helps save time by providing consumers access to their key information when, where, and how they want it.

The QuoteTracker, accessible from the Quicken.com investments portfolio page, allows investors to keep a small version of their portfolio open on their desktop, so they can use their browser for other things or even close it altogether. This mini-version of the Quicken.com portfolio provides consumers with access to the same personalized portfolio they have set up on Quicken.com or in Quicken 2001. With instant access to news headlines, alerts, and other analysis with a simple click of the mouse, consumers can quickly see key information to help them stay on top of their investments.

Quicken.com's new daily Portfolio Email service helps consumers to see their investment portfolio at the close of the market day, anyplace they receive e-mail messages. With this service, investors can stay on top of their investments without even having to access Quicken.com. Quicken.com's Portfolio Email service updates investors with access to the same personalized portfolio they've set up on Quicken.com or in Quicken 2001, including price changes, news, alerts about portfolio stocks, and broader market news.

Quicken.com Mobile enables consumers to see their investments portfolio from mobile devices, giving investors a new choice in when, where, and how to monitor their investment accounts. Just like the Portfolio Email updates, Quicken.com Mobile allows consumers to access the same personalized portfolio they've set up in Quicken 2001 or on Quicken.com, eliminating the headache of setting up or maintaining different portfolios in different places.

Quicken.com Mobile, available for wireless Palm OS devices and web-enabled mobile telephones, provides integrated news and alerts with clickable icons to help mobile users stay on top of their investments.

Intuit Inc., 2535 Garcia Avenue, Mountain View, CA 94043, 650 944-6000, www.Intuit.com

Real-Time Alert Notifies Pro-Active Investors

EquityAlert.com delivers free real-time news alerts, allowing proactive investors to take advantage of potentially significant price moves that often follow time-sensitive news. Among the range of North American stocks available to real-time news alert recipients are Palm, Inc., and Applied Micro Circuits Corp.

EquityAlert.com, 877 586-1200, support@EquityAlert.com, www.EquityAlert.com

Belzberg To Provide Instinet CANADA Direct Access To Canadian Markets

Belzberg Technologies Inc. announced that it has reached an agreement with Instinet Canada Ltd., an affiliate of Instinet Corp., the world's largest electronic agency securities broker, to offer Instinet clients direct electronic access to the Toronto Stock Exchange through Instinet Canada Ltd. Belzberg recently introduced the first-ever options Electronic Communications Network (ECN) in the United States, as well as electronic connectivity to the five major US options exchanges. Belzberg also provides direct access to all North American stock exchanges and ECNs, thereby processing a substantial percentage of trades on the NYSE, AMEX, Nasdaq, and Toronto Stock Exchange. Belzberg Technologies Inc. creates the software and networks that enable seamless, direct-access routing and execution of trades for financial institutions in the US, Canada, and Europe. The firm's client base includes more than 90 leading US and international financial institutions and five major Canadian banks.

Belzberg Technologies Inc., VP Marketing, 40 King Street West, Suite 3400, Toronto, Ontario M5H 3Y2 Canada, 416 360-1812, GmcSkimming@Belzberg.com, www.Belzberg.com

NEST EGG 2.0 HELPS YOU OPTIMIZE YOUR RETIREMENT

Hamilton Software has released Nest Egg 2.0 to provide those thinking about retirement a unique view of their financial lifespan, allowing them to instantly view the effects of key decisions and to quickly compare a variety of retirement possibilities. Nest Egg's interface allows the user to evaluate a large number of realistically complex financial variables simultaneously. It models taxable, tax-deferred, and tax-free investments; estimates required minimum distributions; includes Social Security income; and allows custom entry of lifetime events such as college expenses, inheritance, sale of a business, and so forth. Nest Egg 2.0 also allows the user to plan for preretirement, semiretirement, and postretirement either separately or simultaneously, and can convert future amounts between today's dollars and real inflated dollars. Nest Egg makes complex analysis simple, enabling the user to compare and optimize options with a single-button click. A "Return-on-Investment Calculator" lets the user select from a set of market statistics to assist in designing an ideal asset allocation, predicting rate of return and risk level. An interview is available to help enter information, and a detailed schedule and interactive graph show inflation-adjusted savings requirements, retirement distributions, and estimated tax liability for each year to serve as a blueprint for a tailored retirement plan.

Hamilton Software Inc., 6432 East Mineral Place, Englewood, CO 80112, 800 733-9607, http://www.hamiltonsoftware.com