MENU	Henry's Pick of the Best FINANCE

Money

Find
A simple and excellent online directory of UK financial service providers, which as yet is not quite as big as some, but is nevertheless one of the most user-friendly available. Other handy features include online calculators, brochure requests and a (currently developing) City job finder.

Inland Revenue
Downloadable tax return forms, crisply written advice for the self-employed, and information on taxing e-business. All done to present the taxman with a user-friendly face, but the screensaver only adds insult to injury.

Moneyworld
A comprehensive guide to the world of money, offering guides to managing your cash, and comparisons of hundreds of financial service providers. Initially bewildering if you're not very financially aware.

The Motley Fool UK
Promising to teach you how to crack the markets in 15 minutes, the Motley Fool is the loosest cannon in the online financial arsenal. Witty, informative and seductive, the fool now has a UK-specific site.

Mrs Cohen
Apparently one of Britain's "best-known private investors", Mrs Cohen has constructed a site which manages at once to be well constructed, informative and endearingly gauche. Peering out from under her "I'm-a-granny-you-know" hat, the old dear described by The Times as "an investment rottweiler" offers advice to her nephew on buying his new flat, warns that investment is a get-rich-slowly business and provides a useful glossary to investment jargon.

OFT Personal Finance Guide
The Office of Fair Trading's guide to the basics of personal finance, aimed at non-professionals bewildered by the jargon and plethora of services on offer. The site offers excellent tips on how to manage household income, tax assessments, and choose a mortgage. Sadly, as a government site, there is no guide to high-street and commercial services.

Charles Schwab
With a third of the online stock market, dealing $30 million worth of stock daily, Schwab's share dealership is growing so fast that it threatens the price-setting power of the New York Stock Exchange. Essential for the growing ranks of day traders - and could make Schwab richer than Gates.

Screentrade
Shopping for the cheapest insurance quote used to mean hours on the phone, Yellow Pages on lap, haggling with telesales for a lower price. No more - let Screentrade search for you, 24 hours a day.

Smile
Despite a shaky start, the Co-operative's online bank could do for net what First Direct did for the telephone banking. It offers all the services of offline banks but with more appetising interest rates. Giving it a run for its money is First-e.com.

Stockwatch
How does Stockwatch manage to charge handsomely for it services when everything else on the web is free? Simple - online financial experts swear by it, and its subscribers pay up to $50 per month for its detailed, exhaustive information on every major North American stock exchange. For beginners, Stockwatch offers a month for free.

Personal finance

BBA
The British Bankers Association does its best to demystify the various arcane processes which govern the behaviour of banks. There is also advice on topics as varied as finding 'dormant' bank accounts and the impact of the euro.

Chartered Institute of Taxation
Not exactly laugh-a-minute material, but what this site does, it does well. There are separate sections for the public, professionals and students of tax, each providing FAQ's and more detailed articles. The only slip is the unfathomable decision to print some text in black on a dark blue background.

Digita Tax Centre
A first-class tax site including news, tax tips and free tools to help you calculate how much to pay. There's also the opportunity to buy software.

DSS Pensions advice
There's very little independent advice on the internet, so full marks to the DSS for setting this up. The Monopoly motif sadly conjures up images of bankruptcy and imprisonment, but none of us are perfect.

Financial Services Authority
As regulatory reform of the UK finance industry continues apace, the FSA is set to become one of the government's most powerful watchdogs. The website aims to provide comprehensive and transparent information for investors - you can also use it make a complaint or check the credentials of a firm before you do business with them.

Find
A simple and excellent online directory of UK financial service providers, which as yet is not quite as big as some, but is nevertheless one of the most user-friendly available. Other handy features include online calculators, brochure requests and a (currently developing) City job finder.

FT - Your Money
An interactive service targeted at laypeople who want to organise their personal finances, rather than at FT-reading professionals. Find quick-fire guides to reducing bills or choosing a mortgage, read up- to-the-minute financial news, and create a homepage that tracks your financial investments.

Inland Revenue
Downloadable tax return forms, crisply written advice for the self-employed, and information on taxing e-business. All done to present the taxman with a user-friendly face, but the screensaver only adds insult to injury.

Moneyweb
This is a plain-English financial services guide for the completely clueless. Including some useful interactive tools such as the Pensions Audit, but more experienced investors will find it lacks detail.

Moneynet
Another financial services advice site, giving the lowdown on many financial products currently on offer in the UK. Interest rates are updated daily, and the semi-interactive search facility will guide you to the product that's right for you.

MoneyWorld
A comprehensive guide to the world of money, offering guides to managing your cash, and comparisons of hundreds of financial service providers. Looks impressive, but could be bewildering if you're not very financially aware.

Mortgages Online
Some independent financial advisers have excellent websites - this mortgage site is a one-stop advice shop for first-time buyers and landlords alike.

OFT Personal Finance Guide
The Office of Fair Trading's guide to the basics of personal finance, aimed at non-professionals bewildered by the jargon and plethora of services on offer. The site offers excellent tips on how to manage household income, tax assessments, and choose a mortgage. Sadly, as a government site, there is no guide to high-street and commercial services.

Screentrade
Shopping for the cheapest insurance quote used to mean hours on the phone, Yellow Pages on lap, haggling with telesales for a lower price. No more - let Screentrade search for you, 24 hours a day.

The Site: Money
A refreshingly 'human' site relating to the kind of difficulties we all experience from time to time. What makes it work is that it isn't just dry advice on debt management or credit card rates - the site encourages browsers to submit stories about their personal experiences and views.

Society of Financial Advisers
After the pension-misselling scandal of the late '80s and early '90s, many people are concerned about the quality and "independence" of the financial advice they get. Sofa (makes you feel comfortable already, doesn't it?) gets to the root of the problem, by providing a searchable directory of advisers who have passed its professional membership exams.

TaxTips
Handy tax advice from Express Accountancy, for both employees and small business owners - flip through the filofax to find out how to make sure you're not paying more than you need to. Of course Express Accountancy will be more than happy to do your VAT for you, and you can hire them online too.

UK Home Repossession Page
The other side of home-owning. This excellent site offers advice to those who have found difficulty dealing with lenders, have had their homes repossessed, or who are blacklisted but are looking for mortgages. Suitably spartan in its appearance.

Stocks and shares

e*trade
Hoping to undercut the big boys, Brighton-based e*trade sell themselves as a cheaper alternative to the likes of Schwab and Stockwatch. Good for small traders or those looking for an introduction to day trading.

Interactive Investor International
One of the pioneers of online investment tools, III offers a range of useful and free services to registered users. Detailed market and performance information enables investors to make canny decisions, personal portfolio changes can be monitored, and jargon-free advice is also available.

London Stock Exchange
Not the online trading floor that the name suggests, not yet. The home page of the London Stock Exchange is a useful, if clunky, guide to the UK market. Includes links to a range of real-time prices, and extra information on the footsie's new hi-tech stocks.

Mrs Cohen.com
Apparently one of Britain's "best-known private investors", Mrs Cohen has constructed a site which manages at once to be well constructed, informative and endearingly gauche. Peering out from under her "I'm-a-granny-you-know" hat, the old dear described by The Times as "an investment rottweiler" offers advice to her nephew on buying his new flat, warns that investment is a get-rich-slowly business and provides a useful glossary to investment jargon.

MoneyWorld - Stocks
Definitely not a site for amateurs, Moneyworld's Stocks section provides a comprehensive guide to the world's major stockmarkets. Prices are constantly updated, as is the business and stockmarket news section. You can also create your own portfolio manager to track the rise and fall of your fortunes, and search for online stockbrokers.

The Motley Fool UK
Promising to teach you how to crack the markets in 15 minutes, the Motley Fool is the loosest cannon in the online financial arsenal. Witty, informative and seductive, the fool now has a UK-specific site.

Nasdaq
The Nasdaq site is generally a smooth affair, providing searchable share-price information, a guide to all major indices, international market news and a limited investor's guide. But, as with other major stockmarket and index sites, more development is needed before online trading really takes off.

New York Stock Exchange
Again, you can't actually trade online here, but you can create a personal stock tracker and keep an eye on all the latest index changes. All in all a classy and informative site which even contains a virtual tour through the hallowed portals - feel the money flowing.

Stockwatch
How does Stockwatch manage to charge handsomely for it services when everything else on the web is free? Simple - online financial experts swear by it, and its subscribers pay up to $50 per month for its detailed, exhaustive information on every major North American stock exchange. For beginners, Stockwatch offers a month for free.

UK-iNvest.com
Advice for anyone in the UK interested in trading in stocks and shares. There is up-to-the-minute information on performance, a database of public companies and an option to track your own portfolio by personalising the page. An outstanding site.