Online Finance Awards 2004 shortlist revealed...

Levels of information now offered by online finance sites are now at record levels, according to key findings of the Online Finance Awards 2004 judging panel.

Comments gathered to produce of the Online Finance Awards 2004 shortlist of winners reveals while a combination of increased competition, regulatory requirements and more sophisticated investors has seen sites offering consumer and financial intermediaries substantially more information, the sheer weight of data has sometimes been at the expense of ease of use, says Deborah Benn, chair of the judging panel who compiled the shortlist.

“While it is both commendable and necessary to have as much information as possible on sites to help users, it is also important to ensure that sites are not so crowded with information that users are confused by what is on offer.”

The judging panel has completed initial assessment of entries to come up with this year’s shortlist (see below). In particular, the panel of judges was looking for:

The Online Finance Awards 2004 shortlist is as follows:

Best Data & Quotation Site B2B
AssureWeb
Hargreaves Lansdown
The Exchange
Webline

Best Fund Supermarket B2B
Cofunds Ltd
Selestia
Skandia
Fidelity FundsNetwork

Best Investment Site B2B
First State Investments
Framlington
Invesco
Morningstar
Prudential
Selestia
Standard Life Investments

Best Life & Pensions Site B2B
AssureWeb
Friends Provident
Scottish Life
Scottish Widows
Hargreaves Lansdown
Prudential

Best Mortgage Site B2B
Accord Mortgages
Birmingham Midshires
Mortgage Express
UCB Home Loans

Best Protection Site B2B
AssureWeb
Friends Provident
Norwich Union

Best Investment Site B2C
First State Investments
Morningstar
New Star
TrustNet
Virgin Money
Hargreaves Lansdown

Best Bank & Building Society Site B2C
First Direct
Smile
Barclays Bank

Best Share Dealing Site B2C
Barclays Bank
Hargreaves Lansdown
Interactive Investor
Com Direct
E*Trade Securities
MiniCFDs

Best Financial Advice Site B2C
AdviceOnline
Bradford & Bingley
Charcol

Best Financial Spread betting Site B2C
Deal4Free
Finspreads
IG Index
Trade Index

Best Fund Supermarket Site B2C
Hargreaves Lansdown
Interactive Investor
Fidelity Investment

Now in its fifth year, the Online Finance Awards are an established part of the financial calendar, however a new addition to testing this year asked judges to look at the ethical use of information provided on a site.

“In terms of site ethics, the judges looked at whether explanations about rates or performance figures were prominent enough and whether there were clear risk warnings.

In terms of b2b sites, we assessed whether there was enough explanatory and educational material or training and workshop options to help enable an IFA to make an more informed decision on behalf of clients,” adds Benn.

While there were some excellent entries, the panel also found wide variance in certain categories so some of the shortlists are smaller where judges found clearer definition between those websites which had “got it right” and those which had not.

The 2004 panel of judges is:
Deborah Benn, financial journalist and chair of the judging panel
David Lascelles of the Centre for the Study of Financial Innovation
Rory Curran of 1st Software
Denise Holland of IBM
Peter Ballard of Foolproof
Peter Massey of Budd UK
Ken Scott of Intellexis
Nick Baker of AdventisNMG
Martin Fox of Egg Design
Julie Henderson of IFAonline.
Paul Pettit of Origo.

Short listed entries are being assessed further to decide the winner and two highly commended entries in each category, and will then be announced at a special awards dinner on Thursday, 25th November 2004 at the Victoria Park Plaza in London.

For information on the dinner contact Mike Jones at ,a href="mailto:mikejones:incisivemedia.com" target="_blank">mike.jones@incisivemedia.com or go to www.onlinefinanceawards.co.uk for further information on the awards.