This is probably one of the largest trade shows in Canada showcasing mining, oil and gas, new energy, commodities and fuel sources. As an investor, you get to meet and talk with representatives of more than 400 companies; each of whom want you to invest in their firm.

As a dyed-in-the-wool marketing guy, I found this most interesting. There were many companies there who obviously knew what they were doing. These firms knew how to capture the attention and hopefully the acceptance of the individual investor, as s/he walked in a sea of competing entities and offers.

One of these 400+ companies that really impressed me was Stock Research DD Inc. Khaled Sultan, President of this recently launched membership website, introduced me to his two associates, Sara and Jaymie, as well as the founder of the site, Ian Campbell, one of Canada's leading business valuation consultants.

This special site focuses on the Canadian small-cap mining and oil & gas sectors. "We're excited to have launched a web site that gives users the ability to apply due diligence to two important sectors in the context of today's globalization and macro-economic conditions," said Campbell, who took more than 18 months to develop the site.

The web site's purpose is to enable subscribers to prospect for financially strong companies in high-growth sectors, while reducing the associated investment risks by allowing them to do efficient research & due diligence and putting strong research to work for them.

Campbell explained that "this site offers one-stop access to unique data and analysis. It provides consistently formatted research on more than 250 companies that trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange and the TSX Venture Exchange. Each of the companies embedded within the site meet capitalization and balance sheet requirements set by Stock Research DD Inc."

When I asked him for whom this site was designed, he said "the web site will be useful for individual retail and institutional investors who research investment ideas on the Internet, as well as investment advisors and securities analysts."

I asked Sultan, why any independent investor should trust using such a site as this. He looked me right in the eye and said: "this site is totally transparent and fiercely independent. It is subscriber-driven and receives no income from either the investable companies listed on the site...or any advertisers. It is a 'pure' source for research and due diligence data, and does not make stock recommendations."

I really liked the part about it being transparent, objective and not making any buy or sell-side recommendations. It's obviously a very efficient tool that I can use to do my own research and due diligence and then make my own personal decisions.

As I walked up and down the aisles of the show, I was amazed by the number of people I heard discussing this site. Several asked me just why any investor should pay any attention to this new service. I mentioned the open-transparency of it; I added the complete objectivity and being non-beholden to anyone, coupled with the fact that they don't take any money from others except the members (membership is less than twenty bucks a month, or $199 for a year).

I finished with my favorite point: they don't push any stocks on anyone: you make your own decisions. When I said that's what I had seen and been told, their faces usually lit up in a smile; they decided to take some time to visit that booth.

While talking with others at the show, one of the most frequent questions I heard was: "where do the information feeds and raw data come from?" Not knowing for sure, and now wondering this myself, I re-visited Sultan at his booth and asked him.

"Subscribers gain access to information that is often buried or cast afar," he said. "We aggregate licensed, third-party data and wire feeds that are not offered together anywhere else: Capital IQ, the institutional data feed that's part of Standard & Poor's; System for Electronic Disclosure by Insiders (SEDI); Canada NewsWire from CNW Group Ltd., and Marketwire Inc.," he added.

That was enough for me. I'm now a member of this most useful site. I can save untold hours each month; and I don't have to worry about the data, its objectivity, accuracy...or where it's coming from.

© Roy MacNaughton, 2008