Brokers and inves-tors who want access to comprehensive stock and market information — whether they’re at their desks or on the road — will find the Web-based software services of AlphaTrade.com useful.

A Vancouver-based company with registered offices in Nevada, AlphaTrade provides multi-lingual, real-time and delayed corporate, financial and trading information on stocks listed on major exchanges in North America, London and the Middle East. It also covers options, mutual funds and currencies.

Subscribers can create personalized charts of trading history; check trading information; and obtain real-time stock quotes, quantitative equity research and company news.

James Chan, general manager of AlphaTrade, calls his firm “a world leader in providing real-time stock market data, global news and high-quality information at cost-effective prices.”

He claims AlphaTrade’s leading-edge technology and design is both flexible and scalable, and is available at prices that are lower than those of its competitors. Also, Chan says, AlphaTrade is the first to offer a number of features: a multilingual service; modular, fully customizable applications; and the ability to monitor investments from a tax perspective.

AlphaTrade’s services are available in several modules and levels, allowing users to pay only for services that suit their needs:

> e-gate rt, the most advanced module, provides streaming market and stock data, real-time stock charts and portfolio-management tools. The information available at Level 1 of E-Gate RT probably is sufficient to support investment decision-making by most advisors and brokers. For example, the portfolio-management module allows users to create up to 10 portfolios with up to 60 symbols in each, and to open and switch between two portfolios simultaneously.

Level 2 of E-Gate RT is more suitable for traders; it provides in-depth information on bids, bidders, best bids, best offers, most active stocks and company news.

> e-gate 20 is a delayed data stock market quote system that allows users to monitor markets without live prices. It is available free of charge to subscribers. It includes many of the features of E-Gate RT Level 1, such as stock charts, portfolio-management tools and stock market data. Quotes are delayed by 15 to 20 minutes.

> e-gate lite is designed for use on subscribers’ Web sites. It is an intuitive interface of sophisticated information tools.

> e-quote, which is designed for use on subscribers’ Web sites, provides customizable data such as tickers, quotes and information tools. These free modules provide useful market and stock information, such as a scrolling ticker that displays up to 20 stock symbols and searchable stock quotes.

Subscribers on the move can use a hand-held mobile device, such as Research in Motion Inc.’s BlackBerry or Palm Inc.’s Palm OS, to access real-time information provided by E-Gate. This service is provided by Jupiter Wireless, which is associated with AlphaTrade.

All subscribers of E-Gate RT pay a base fee of US$17 a month and an exchange communication fee of US$10 a month. Wireless subscribers pay an additional US$10 a month. Additional fees are based on access to Level 1 or Level 2 information for different stock exchanges and for add-on services. Canadian users, for example, pay US$6 a month for Toronto Stock Exchange Level 1 data and US$25 a month for TSX Level 2 data. Level 1 and 2 TSX Venture Exchange data costs US$23 and US$20 a month, respectively. Level 1 access is required to subscribe to Level 2. An administration fee is also charged to subscribers — for example, US$20 a month for TSX Level 2 and TSX Venture Level 2 service.

A similar fee structure applies to other North American exchanges and to the London Stock Exchange. Access to data of Middle East exchanges, including those of Dubai, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, is not currently subject to extra fees.

Users can also pay for a variety of add-on services, including: the Bollinger Band tool kit, a technical analysis tool; the Quantitative Equity Research Indicator, a research tool; or specialized information on futures contracts and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

AlphaTrade is suitable for those actively involved in market-traded securities and related instruments. The user-friendly service brings data from several sources to facilitate investment decisions. IE