ADVFN is a financial market website. It provides online data and services to private investors such as stock

Stock

The capital stock of a business entity represents the original capital paid into or invested in the business by its founders. It serves as a security for the creditors of a business since it cannot be withdrawn to the detriment of the creditors...

 quotes, charts, news, FOREX, Futures

Futures contract

In finance, a futures contract is a standardized contract between two parties to exchange a specified asset of standardized quantity and quality for a price agreed today with delivery occurring at a specified future date, the delivery date. The contracts are traded on a futures exchange...

 & Option

Option (finance)

In finance, an option is a derivative financial instrument that specifies a contract between two parties for a future transaction on an asset at a reference price. The buyer of the option gains the right, but not the obligation, to engage in that transaction, while the seller incurs the...

s and stock screeners. The site currently covers in excess of 70 stock exchanges from across the globe. It is known for its active bulletin boards (internet forums).

History

ADVFN was established in the last quarter of 1999 and floated on AIM

Alternative Investment Market

AIM is a sub-market of the London Stock Exchange, allowing smaller companies to float shares with a more flexible regulatory system than is applicable to the main market....

 in March 2000. It now has over 2,000,000 registered users . In February 2006, ADVFN bought Equity Holdings Limited - the owner of research brand Equity Development.

In September 2006, ADVFN acquired InvestorsHub.com - an online investment community website in the North American market.
In recent years, ADVFN has expanded from the UK to Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

, France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

, India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

, Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

, Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

 and USA with geo- and language-targeted financial sites in these territories.

Data provision

ADVFN provides real-time

Real-time data

Real-time data denotes information that is delivered immediately after collection. There is no delay in the timeliness of the information provided. Real-time data is often used for navigation or tracking....

 stocks and shares prices..

In February, 2011, ADVFN launched Level 2 Montage - a system combining four Level 2 order books trading simultaneously. It includes the order books of Chi-X

Chi-X

Chi-X Europe is a London-based, order-driven pan-European equity exchange, or Multilateral Trading Facility . It is an alternative exchange and trades equities that are listed on primary exchanges such as the London Stock Exchange, Frankfurt Stock Exchange, Euronext and OMX...

, Turquoise and PLUS as well as the London Stock Exchange

London Stock Exchange

The London Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in the City of London within the United Kingdom. , the Exchange had a market capitalisation of US$3.7495 trillion, making it the fourth-largest stock exchange in the world by this measurement...

.

ADVFN operates both free and premium bulletin boards, which receive between 10,000-12,000 posts a day . The bulletin boards have often been a springboard for shareholder activism .