ClearStation, Inc., a wholly-owned
subsidiary of E*TRADE Group, Inc. (NYSE: ET), integrates portfolio management
with the essentials of technical analysis, fundamental analysis and community
discussion to deliver a comprehensive Three-Point Investment Approach to
help online traders invest with confidence.
Who should use ClearStation?
ClearStation is designed for both savvy and novice online investors. Experienced investors benefit from the site's complete offering of interactive charting and portfolio management tools and daily proprietary stock recommendations. For the novice investor, ClearStation demystifies technical analysis and provides actionable trading strategies. The Education area, with more than seventy-five articles, provides a foundation for novices, while helping more advanced traders investigate specific topics of interest.
What types of research data and news/analysis does ClearStation provide?
As part of its Three-Point Investment Approach, ClearStation offers fundamental and technical analysis in addition to community-based stock recommendations and discussion. ClearStation's fundamental coverage includes company profiles from Market Guide, earnings projections and analyst ratings from Zacks, insider trading data from Vickers, and news from TheStreet.com, CBS MarketWatch and Briefing.com.
Are there any membership or subscription fees?
No, ClearStation is free for both visitors and registered members. In the future, ClearStation may provide subscription-based access to premium data and tools. However, all of the basic site functions such as the ClearStation graphs, quote look-up, basic portfolios and Education articles will remain free.
How is ClearStation different from other online investment sites?
Most financial Web sites present too much data and not enough context. ClearStation offers clear, proactive investment guidance by providing extensive education and by encouraging investors to make balanced trading decisions based on technical and fundamental analysis combined with community advice.
The ClearStation site was developed to bring highly sophisticated Wall Street investing tools to the individual investor in an easy-to-use format. Regardless of where you begin your research- through technical analysis, fundamentals, or community recommendations - ClearStation provides the tools and information to help members invest with confidence.
ClearStation goes beyond typical investment Web sites by introducing unique features: proprietary charts that feature red and green bars to indicate bullish or bearish trends; a community feature that encourages members to post and subscribe to other members' lists of recommended stocks, and daily lists of compelling stock ideas recommendations based on fundamental, technical and community events. The site's new A-List features the hottest Tag & Bag stocks of the day.
What is technical analysis?
Technical analysis, one of the core tenets of ClearStation's Three-Point Investment Approach, is the study of stock price behavior, which can be used to discern trends or other patterns associated with any given stock. With user-friendly tools such as color-coded graphs (green for bullish, red for bearish), the individual investor can more easily identify the probable direction of a stock's movement.
ClearStation focuses on the two most important technical analysis concepts: trending and timing. Identifying and knowing when to take advantage of trends provides individual investors the opportunity to enter and hold profitable positions in stocks on the move. ClearStation believes that investing in the week-to-month - rather than intra-day (day trading) - time frame is the most successful and manageable approach for active individual investors.
Why is technical analysis important if you already have key fundamental data on a particular stock?
Fundamental data provides helpful background information on a company, such as the strength of its management team or earnings, but cannot fully explain the movement and behavior of the stock itself. Understanding the way a stock is likely to move, based on its track record and illustrated by ClearStation's graphs, helps investors decide when to buy, sell or hold for maximum performance.
Who is the ClearStation community? What makes the ClearStation community different from communities on other sites?
ClearStation's community is made up of savvy and novice online investors who are serious about improving their investment decisions and wish to share ideas and learn from one another.
ClearStation's community differs from others because of its dedication to maintaining a high level of sophistication in its discussion. Community members who recommend stocks are held accountable through their public "Recommend" portfolios, which allow other members of the community to decide, based on the member's track record, whether to act on his or her advice. This is an effective means of discouraging "hype" of stocks and misinformation.
Can investors use ClearStation even in a bear market?
ClearStation is one of the few sites that investors can use profitably in both bull and bear markets. By revealing downtrends as well as uptrends, ClearStation helps members exit a position at the most advantageous time. ClearStation also helps investors learn how and when to short a stock and profit from its price decline.
Can members trade stocks on ClearStation?
Through ClearStation's relationship with E*TRADE, ClearStation members
can act immediately on technical, fundamental and community information
from ClearStation with convenient access to trading via "Trade at
E*TRADE" links throughout the site.
Who are ClearStation's partners and information providers?
For financial information, ClearStation has partnered with several market
data and news providers, including Reuters, Zacks Investment Research,
Market Guide, Briefing.com, TheStreet.com, CBS MarketWatch, PR Newswire
and Business Wire.
Are there any risks to investors who maintain their portfolios on the ClearStation site?
All of the information is password-protected in a state-of-the-art relational database system. There are no connections to brokerage or transaction processing systems. Every effort has been made in the design of the system to ensure a secure financial experience.
