If you have been remotely interested in Indian Stock Markets, chances are that you would have opened www.moneycontrol.com a lot of times. As for me, the day I started investing and even before that Moneycontrol was my go-to place for all things stock market and mutual funds.
The features and content at moneycontrol was (and is) great but the user experience was a huge let down. Why you ask? The darn ads and plenty of them. Now I understand that web properties which do not charge you a dime need to make money somehow and advertisement is the way to go. Moneycontrol almost being the monopolistic leader in the space had no dearth of advertisers but apparently the folks at moneycontrol decided user experience could be sacrificed. Not a bad move given that there were no good enough competitors making users like me come back to the ad-filled site.
But, monopoly is only good until it lasts. The awesome folks at Infinity Beta recently launched their website www.paisa.com and if I had to summarize the outcome of the launch, it will be ‘Goodbye MoneyControl (almost)’ *almost explained later in the post
On to Paisa and why it is different. I will get into the content later but if there is one thing the site does a great job is provide unparalleled usability. Let me give a rundown of some of the features that make Paisa my new go-to website for all things stock markets.
Home Page filled with all the right information pointers
What does one basically want at the home page of a Financial website? A ticker for Sensex and Nifty, recent and historical activity of stocks, sector performances, IPOs and related news. Well, that’s what you get at the Paisa homepage in a manner which is visually a treat for the eyes. The home page also features the a snapshot of world markets, NFOs and what have you.
(Personally, I would prefer the world market snapshot to be placed lower than the News section but that’s just me)
Stocks and Mutual Funds Section is minimalistic but armed with amazing filter options
The Stocks page is very minimalistic and features some of the most active stocks but there are tons of options to narrow down the list based on your liking. Notice the representation of key parameters here. The trend chart against each stock and the range give you a complete snapshot of individual stocks. Then there are filters in the left to restrict the stocks displayed in the list. Sort the list with the size(large caps, mid caps etc.) or if you want a sectoral view choose the sectors. The additional attributes like EPS, Dividend yield are also up for modifications which is a welcome addition.
The same holds true for the Mutual Funds section which has pretty much the same features including MF specific search filters
Individual Stock and Mutual Fund Pages have all the required information
The individual stock and Mutual Fund information pages have been implemented almost same as how you would find them listed on other stock market websites but only neater.You have the stock movement chart, related news and competitor information etc.
There is a nifty ‘Compare’ feature which lets you compare the stock with its competitors on key parameters. For someone interested in sector based investing, this can be a rather simplified way of quickly poring over the necessary numbers. Then there is the usual ‘Add To Watchlist’ and ‘Add To Portfolio’ feature which we will come to later. All in all no drastic change but it does a nice job of collating the right information
Portfolio Management has been implemented to perfection
This is one feature I absolutely cant do without. I have a demat account with Indiabulls but my Mutual Funds are not part of that demat account. So, I prefer to have all my investments stacked together so that I can see the complete picture at all times. Paisa has gotten the Portfolio feature nailed from all angles. Adding holdings is as simple as they come but it is the attention to little detail that has been brilliant. A nifty New tab against each stock and a graphical analysis of the holdings makes visiting the portfolio page a delight (Well in my case there is this Austral Coke which does not make me smile but then that’s just my bad karma 
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Bonus: Social Network Friendly Site
The site also features social network engagement mechanism via FB Like etc. Now that may be a nice-t0-have feature alone but then there is a small possibility of gauging sentiment on stocks/mutual funds based on how users interact with individual stocks. For e.g.: 500 people liking SBI stock and 1000 people liking L&T stock. Far fetched I know but then no harm either
Phew! Some lengthy review this is turning out to be. What’s a review without some ‘What I would like to see’ rants (like I know better) . Also, the explanation ‘almost’ in Goodbye Moneycontrol that I earlier used
The site currently lacks content. Apart from the so called Stock Market Expert recommendations and what not, Moneycontrol does have awesome content in the form of articles, videos etc. Also, features like Mutual Fund Rating meter which help you compare different mutual funds etc. Paisa currently lacks content but I guess like Moneycontrol, partnership driven content will not that be that big an issue going forward
I am not sure if its intended behavior but there seems to a single page for both NFOs and IPOs. Now that is not a bad thing in itself, but clicking on NFO showed me Recent IPOs first which had me confused for a moment. Showing IPOs and NFOs separately might be a better idea
It is early days and the site is getting decent traction. However, until the site plans to add some premium features and charge users, monetization through ads seems likely. If that happens, I hope it does happen at the cost of user experience
Overall Paisa is a welcome change to the ad-filled chaotic experience of browsing stock market websites. The site is in beta currently and lacks certain features like Adding ULIPs to portfolio etc. but with time I think the site is going to only get better.
Have you had a chance to visit www.paisa.com? What are your thoughts