By Nick Brennan

AlphaTrade provides stock info for investors

Students eager to get a leg up on their trading portfolios now have access to a reasonably priced stock information resource. Alpha Trade allows "classroom brokers" to access Level II stock information — a service typically used by professional day-traders that gives users information about who is buying and selling stocks and whether the stock’s price will likely rise or fall — along with other information.

Although Stern students have access to Bloomberg stations that offer such features, they will no longer have this privilege after graduation.

Alpha Trade’s product, E-Gate, is an internet-based program that does not require the installation of software to the user’s hard drive, but instead runs entirely off the company’s website, Alphatrade.com.

The product has been designed "with the young investor in mind," said Alpha Trade spokeswoman Rosemarie Esposito, adding that it has the ability to stream real-time information wirelessly to a Blackberry or to a compatible cell phone.

"With Alpha Trade, students can receive news on their different stocks as it happens," Esposito said. "This is beneficial to students because, with a limited budget, students don’t always have the ability or funds to pay for large platforms like Bloomberg, which can cost thousands of dollars."

The base cost of the software is $27 a month, and users can expect to pay more for additional access to stock exchanges and services.

In addition to real-time information and Level II access, E-Gate also allows investors to chart multiple connections and export capital gains or losses to Microsoft Excel.

Stern freshman Brian Castiglioni took a test drive of the E-Gate program and said he saw potential.

"The part I liked best was the Level II access because, as a young investor — especially a freshman — it’s hard for me to get my hands on this kind of information," he said.

Budding investors can start a 14-day free trial on Alpha Trade’s website.