Quality control

Entrepreneur, August, 2002 by Jennifer Pellet

Despite the downturn, hordes of investment board sites purporting to offer the latest and greatest stock tips still crowd the Internet. But in today's more conservative market, discriminating investors are looking for substance rather than sound bites. Fortunately, the post-Enron era has spurred a handful of boards that explore big-picture issues of interest to investors, such as corporate governance and mutual fund fees. The site www.eraider.com, for example, is devoted largely to shareholder activism, charging that "owning a stock is owning a business, with all the rights and responsibilities that implies."

Other message board sites seek to up their expertise. At www.marketocracy.com, only portfolio managers whose performances rank in the top 25 percent can post missives. The Value Investors Club is even more discriminating: It's 250 investors are pre-screened by Columbia Business School professor Joel Greenblatt and partners from his New York City-based hedge fund Gotham Capital. Want to see if you make the grade? Try it out at www.valueinvestorsclub.com.

JENNIFER PELLET (jpellet5@aol.com) is a freelance writer in New York City specializing in business and finance.