Useful Links
Bank of England
http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/ Contains information on current interest rates and links to speeches by the Governor, members of the MPC and other regular publications such as the inflation report. No registration required.
Bloomberg
http://www.bloomberg.com/ Provides financial news and some pricing information with a US and international flavour. Some interesting financial analysis tools. No registration required.
Financial Ombudsman Service
http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/ Provides information about the circumstances in which the ombudsman service can act on a complaint and how to make a complaint. No registration required.
Financial Services Authority (FSA)
http://www.fsa.gov.uk/ Provides information on the regulation of financial services in the UK. Has a useful section on the basics of various types of products including stock exchange investments. No registration required.
Financial Times (FT)
http://www.ft.com/home/uk Useful source of financial news with a UK and international flavour. Also contains some useful analysis tools for private investors. Some parts of the site are only available to subscribers.
Google Finance
http://finance.google.com/finance Useful source especially for US securities and mutual funds. No registration required.
HM Revenue & Customs
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/ Contains useful information on the UK tax system including personal allowances and tax rates. No registration required.
HM Treasury
http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/ Contains information on budget and pre-budget reports together with detailed background information. Usually where the "nasty surprises" of budgets first appear. No subscription required.
International Energy Ageny (IEA) Oil Market Report
http://omrpublic.iea.org/ Provides useful data on the supply and demand for oil globally. No subscription required.
Investegate
http://www.investegate.co.uk/ A source of company regulatory announcements - slightly more user-friendly than RNS. No subscription required but quite intrusive pop-up advertising.
London Stock Exchange
http://www.londonstockexchange.com/ Contains a range of information on the exchange and the services it provides. Has 15 minute delayed prices and other data on companies on the exchange. No subscription required but the site can get very busy and slow.
National Statistics
http://www.statistics.gov.uk/ Provides a comprehensive range of economic and other UK statistics in downloadable form. It is not always easy to identify the data that you are seeking and it is sometimes hard to identify units of measurement etc. No registration required.
Regulatory News Service (RNS)
http://www.londonstockexchange.com/en-gb/products/irs/rns/RNS.htm This is the London Stock Exchange's regulatory news service. It contains statutory and regulatory announcements from all listed UK companies.
Reuters
http://www.reuters.com/ This site offers a general news service with a section on investing. Stories are mostly brief but useful for a quick update on headline news. No registration required.
Splitsonline
http://www.splitsonline.co.uk/disclaimer.asp This site offers comprehensive statistical information on split capital investment trusts with links to fact sheets and websites. No registration required.
The Association of Investment Companies (AIC)
http://www.theaic.co.uk/ The AIC site provides a wealth of information about UK investment companies including news, performance statistics and links to relevant websites. No registration required.
The association of Private Client Investment Managers and Stockbrokers (APCIMS)
http://www.apcims.co.uk/ APCIMS is the trade association to which Speirs & Jeffrey belongs. The site contains some background information on investing and information on the FTSE/APCIMS private client indexes. No registration required.
Trustnet
http://www.trustnet.com/ A comprehensive database of information on investment trusts, unit trusts, OEICs and offshore funds. Contains fact sheets for many but not all trusts together with performance data and links to websites. No registration required.