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Prodigy MONEYMAIL, Volume 1, Number 2
September 1996

In This Issue:
Profile:  Money Talk BB leader and Investing Online moderator Chuck 
Epstein
Chat Calendar:  Mutual funds & more
Announcements:  What's new & noteworthy on Prodigy
Business Briefs:  News you can use from our content partners


PROFILE:  Meet Chuck Epstein
"Investing is a social activity," Chuck Epstein contends, and as 
leader of Prodigy's Money Talk Bulletin Board, he ought to know.  
Epstein has been logging on to the board "two or three times a day, 
360 days a year" for nearly four years to converse with members, 
launch new topics for discussion, introduce special guests, and 
otherwise keep things lively and organized in this interactive 
financial forum.  "We have active discussions in over a dozen 
financial areas, including stocks, real estate, financial planning, 
bonds, options, and futures," Epstein reports.  "Recently, we've 
started two new topics, The MICROCAPitalists and The Early Birds, 
which are essentially actively traded portfolios in small-cap stocks, 
recommended by two different traders.  The rationale is that because 
these Nasdaq-traded stocks are not well followed by the big brokerage 
houses, there's some opportunity there for the individual investor.  
There have been some good recommendations in there, and it's all 
publicly discussed."  
     Also attracting interest, Epstein notes, is a new pet topic of 
his, Political Economy, inspired by election-season debate on deficit 
reduction, tax policy, welfare reform, and the like.  Timely now, 
it's a topic Epstein aims to make permanent.  After all, he quips, 
"people always talk about death and taxes, right?"  Epstein has also 
just launched a financial book club on the BB, the first such venture 
of its kind, he believes.  Working in conjunction with "The Money 
Review," a publication that reviews financial books, Epstein will be 
offering ten free copies of each featured book on a first come, first 
served basis.  Takers are then to meet on the BB to discuss it.  
Details on the first title are posted in the Newsletters & Books 
topic, Book Club Starting subject.
     "The bulletin board is a great medium," Epstein argues.  
"Everybody gets an answer, and you get multiple inputs.  People stick 
around because they get information that assists them with their 
decisions."  There's also an excellent Beginners topic, he adds.  
"People can post a note there such as, 'I just inherited five 
thousand dollars.  What should I do with it?' or 'I want to finance 
my child's college education.  Where do I start?'"  Epstein checks 
the area daily and directs members to the appropriate topic to pursue 
their question.
     On the Web front, Epstein is the moderator of Prodigy's 
Investing Online Interest Group, at http://antares.prodigy.
com/igroups/forprofi/moneycoi/moneycoi.htm.  This site is essentially 
a directory of financial Web sites, Epstein explains, with commentary 
to guide members to the types of information they seek.  "The quality 
of information on the Web is improving," Epstein maintains, "but it 
still varies.  Surfing is a luxury, but it takes a lot of time.  Most 
of the people in investing want quick answers, accurate answers.  So, 
I screen and critique the other financial Web sites.  If I go to a 
bad site, it's not going to be listed -- that's probably the bottom 
line."
     In his spare time,  Epstein, a former NASD broker and editor of 
several financial books, is active as a financial marketing executive,
 financial journalist, and editor of "Interactive Investor Relations,
" a newsletter published by Chicago-based Ragan Communications. 


CHAT CALENDAR
Tune in Tuesday nights to our ongoing series of chats with mutual 
fund experts, hosted by Marsha Meyer, moderator of Prodigy's Mutual 
Fund Interest Group.  Sessions begin at 9 pm ET in the 
Business/Finance area, Mutual Fund auditorium.  To participate, Jump: 
CHAT.

9/3:  Labor Day holiday break

9/10:  Nick Whitridge, manager of Babson Value Fund
Babson Value is a quiet contender, the kind of low-profile fund that 
doesn't make many headlines.  Its performance is anything but low-key,
 however:  With a 16.1% five-year annualized return, it far outstrips 
its growth-and-income peers.  Join Whitridge for a bottom-fisher's 
view of the market, including the outlook for value, current 
favorites, and tips for trolling for come-back companies.

9/17:  Kjeld Thygesen, manager of the Midas Fund
With five-year annualized returns of 26.4%, Midas ranks in the top 1% 
of the precious metals category. At any given time, Thygesen's 
portfolio may include nickel, copper, and other natural resources 
stocks in addition to gold companies.  Mine Thygesen's expertise for 
an understanding of international gold markets, the current outlook 
for precious metals, and the wise use of gold in a diversified 
portfolio.  

9/24:  Ed Walezak, manager of Vontobel U.S. Value Fund
A devotee of value guru Warren Buffett, Walezak dismisses traditional 
value measures in favor of a company's future cash flows, which he 
regards as the sole measure of a firm's true value.  This strategy 
has netted the fund a 13.7% annualized return, well ahead of average 
for the growth-and-income group.  Join Walezak for a discussion of 
key screens for value investors, where to find the greatest value 
potential, and why he believes in bypassing traditional value 
measures.

For updates, watch the online Business and Finance Chat Calendar 
(http://antares.prodigy.com/bizchat/bizchat.htm) or visit the Mutual 
Fund Interest Group (Jump: MUTUAL FUND).

As regular weekly resources, Prodigy presents the following chat 
programs (all times ET):
Mondays at 9 pm:  Women in Business with Aimee Kligman 
       Avenue W/Women Online area, Your Business room
Mondays at 10:30 pm:  Tax Talk with Julian Block
       Business/Finance area, Tax-Saving Strategy room
Tuesdays at 10 pm:  Real Estate Chat with Gary Broitis
       Business/Finance area, Real Estate room
Wednesdays at 8:30 pm:  Apartment Smarts with Barry Feinsmith
       Business/Finance area, Real Estate room


ANNOUNCEMENTS
Going global:  As well-diversified investors know, it pays to be 
everywhere at once, with a strategic selection of international 
investments to offset one's holdings at home.  Given the increasing 
importance of an international outlook, long-time Prodigy columnist 
Brendan Boyd will devote himself exclusively to this topic beginning 
in October.  At that time, he will retire his "Investment Digest" 
column and his Money Talk Bulletin Board activities after a highly 
successful nine-year run. 
    Starting in October, Boyd's current international column, 
"Investing Without Frontiers," will take the form of longer 
dispatches on a weekly basis.  These are to form the cornerstone of 
an international investing Web site spearheaded by Boyd for Prodigy.  
"The U.S.'s share of the world equity market is shrinking every year,
" observes Boyd.  "At the same time, vibrant economies with 
extraordinary investment potential are emerging all over the globe.  
From my home base in Paris, I can see these new opportunities 
developing almost daily.  I hope this unique perspective can help 
make Prodigy's international investing Web site THE indispensable 
guide to world markets.  Investing's future is elsewhere.  I hope 
you'll join me there."

Setting the stage for a start-up:  Got that entrepreneurial itch?  
How does your spouse or personal partner feel about it?  Are you 
thinking of going into business together?  If you are contemplating 
or have already launched an entrepreneurial venture, we direct your 
attention to an online quiz inspired by the new book "Honey, I Want 
To Start My Own Business:  A Planning Guide for Couples," by Azriela 
Jaffe (Harper Collins).  To access the quiz and further information 
about the book, visit http://antares.prodigy.com/entre/index.htm.  In 
addition, Ms. Jaffe will join us on September 18 to chat about the 
pleasures and pitfalls, at home and at work, of the entrepreneurial 
life.  Watch the Business and Finance Chat Calendar for details.


BUSINESS BRIEFS
The Company Reports database on Prodigy is growing at the rate of 
approximately 60 new companies per month, reports Market Guide, Inc., 
provider of this Strategic Investor feature.  As of this month, over 
7,400 actively traded companies are represented.  According to Market 
Guide's Robert Schwagerl, some companies are added to the database by 
user request, others in order of their market capitalization.  All 
companies must be publicly traded on a U.S. exchange to warrant 
inclusion.
     When a company has been identified for addition to the database, 
Market Guide obtains investor relations materials, such as the 
prospectus for an initial public offering, directly from the company. 
 Market Guide updates its data quarterly (or, for some foreign 
companies, annually) by reviewing documents filed with the SEC as 
well as financial reports provided by the companies profiled.  In 
each case, Schwagerl explains, "a team of analysts receives the 
source documents and begins the laborious process of verifying and 
entering the data into the Market Guide report.  A series of computer 
error checks is then performed on the data entered by the analysts.  
These updated error reports are in turn reviewed by the editorial 
staff for accuracy and quality.  Data from third parties, such as 
earnings estimates from Zack's Investment Research, is then 
incorporated and verified for accuracy and timeliness.  Finally, all 
the information is processed with end-of-day pricing to calculate 
financial ratios."  It is a "painstaking process," Schwagerl 
acknowledges, "but it is essential to delivering the finest 
information in a format that meets investor needs."   

Do you have a product or service to sell?  Consider direct mail, one 
of the most cost-effective, target-specific, and measurable sales 
tools available, advises Dun & Bradstreet.  Here's how to get 
started:
*  Define your program's specific objectives.
*  Determine the types of businesses you want to reach:  industries 
now buying your products and services as well as new markets most 
likely to need your wares.
*  Consider key characteristics such as line of business, company 
size, and geography.
     Once you have identified your objectives and markets, D&B 
Solutions, Dun & Bradstreet's database on Prodigy, can help you 
create a mailing list of the best prospects for your sales efforts.  
By using powerful selectors, this resource helps to assure you the 
highest return on your marketing investment.  For further assistance 
in using direct mail effectively, call D&B's Online Customer Support 
Center at (800) 223-1026 and request a free brochure titled "Target 
the Right Markets With Direct Mail."


Copyright 1996 Prodigy Services Corp.  All rights reserved.

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