UK 18:55 Friday, 23 October 2026
Breaking news and expert analysis on fast-moving AIM and LSE listed shares
Disclosure: I have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from ShareProphets). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.
Yesterday it was announced that shareholders owning c22% of ADVFN had demanded an EGM to vote on sacking the entire board. They cocked up the paperwork according to ADVFN but that will be rectified so there is going to be a vote. Obviously I am not entirely a disinterested party.
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Comments
john g
“Clem will stress that things are getting better “
come on Tom… if this was any other CEO.. you would have mocked that comment… stating something like… ‘how long does he need for things to get better ?’ He’s had, what a decade, to do it ?… why all of a sudden will it get better. You’ve also written articles in support of getting rid of boards that just sit and milk it while delivering naff all shareholder value…. AFN is that example…. the shares have done naff all in real terms ….. while the only ones benefiting are the directors. Clem has a bloated salary for such a smallish company. … something this site has constantly highlighted is a problem on the AIM casino.
I hope you’ll not censor this post.. I do like your articles and largely agree with them, they are straight to the point and no wishy washy beating about the bush….. but on this issue i get the feeling your friendship of Clem to friendship and business links with advfn is clouding your usually objective analysis…. the article comes across as somewhat ‘softly softly’.
GrindertraderUK
I like Clem although I personally do not know the man. He is on twitter and happy to respond to the public on a lot of matters and answering questions in his own nice humour.
But ADVFN has not really moved on with the times in my view. I remain a yearly subscriber but here is a few improvement that I would like to see.
1. Subscriptions. All pricing is displayed without VAT. If the site is designed for retail investors in the UK then VAT should be included. The standard practice of making a product look cheaper by displaying EX-VAT prices is old now and to me is a little cheating.
2. Subscriptions again. ADVFN make is harder than most providers of live stock market information to leave. Writing letters giving 30 days notice is ludicrous to cancel.
3. Subscriptions once again. I noticed that If I wished to review my subscription level ADVFN hide any downgraded subscriptions from view. You have to log out and then you can see cheaper options. Unfortunately if you wish to downgrade it looks as though you have to write that damn letter to them!
4. Subscriptions once again! To cheapest Level 2 (Level 2 lite) is bundled with US Live Prices. There is no Level 2 UK only subscription.
5. Subscriptions again and again. Live prices including level 2 have now been driving down by the competition. To me unless you negotiate some deal with ADVFN the costs is no longer competitive.
6. Advertising! We all accept sites need additional revenue but ADVFN have simp;y flooded there sites with advertising. It be honest I know of no other site that manages to cram so much advertising into there site. Even the monitor page has a massive banner advert that is more annoying than anything else.
7. POPUPS! Last year ADVFN also added big flashy pop ups that over lap all the adverts displaying alert reminders etc.
8. Mobile App. A very good app but having subscribers pay extra for this at £60, when others (like the awful LSE asylum) provide the app for no extra costs.
I will continue to use ADVFN as I like the way I can quickly navigate the RNS display the chart and a quick link to the quote page. The monitor I find more useful than other sites.
But every year I have to take time to negotiate a new discount. I also have to use an advanced adblock (with me probably breaking terms and conditions doing so) in order to take out as much of the pop up and adverts’ noise as possible from the site.
I can see how ADVFN can put off many potential subscribers due to all the points above and would hope they review especially the subscription model to include a UK Live prices and Level 2 without bundling some other product within.
Tom Winnifrith
John
I admit I am not objective in the slightest in the piece. Folks asked for my view, honestly I admit i cannot be objective
T
Juicin Drumroll
Don’t know the numbers well enough to say this would turn ADVFN instantly profitable (but I know enough to say this would help immensely) is to charge a nominal fee of 50p or £1 per month for what is now free ‘black’ user access.
Some users would baulk but most would cough up. Just the idiots to be found there on the AIM basket case & fraud shares would make it an entertainment bargain. FFS, a TV license is £155.50 pa & ADVFN has better comedy than the Beeb.
Tell Clem. I want credit for this idea.
Tony
“Clem is also a brave supporter of free speech”
Really? Are memories so short here that no one remembers when ADVFN removed all bulletin boards discussing its own share price and threatened all the thread initiators with a ban if they repeated the ‘offence’?
Neverwhere
I’d just like to agree with GRINDERTRADERUK above, when I was shopping around for a provider of an L2 subscription, I ended up subscribing with LondonSouthEast (and still do) because I found ADVFN so off putting because of several points mentioned already mentioned above.
When I was shopping around, I felt cheated by ADVFN’s promise to have a free sample look at thier L2 service…. I signed up an account so that I could have a “free” look, and it allowed me to see the L2 screen working for about 5 seconds before locking me out and asking for money…. I walked away from it after that and never looked back.
wildrides
why pay for L2 …….. Barclays give it to you for nowt if you trade enough with trades at £5.95.
Ok trades are a bit dearer than some brokers, but you get live risers / fallers , heatmaps and prices . The graphs are good too .
just sayin ………. they all have their faults ………. with LSE its the company you have to keep ………..it just so embarrassing to be associated with . Some of the others just go all techy unreliable when volumes are high and you just cant get a trade through in a timely fashion . Its all very well having nice screens and toys , but if you cant catch the price you want it all becomes rather pointless .
DUCK AND DIVE
ADVFN and Clem deserve the endorsement of everyone reading ShareProphets.
That said, money talks and imho, ADVFN should be generating more coin than it does. The outlook should be good with US revenues and investors set to grow – and with a gazillion new SIPP owners wanting to watch their new investments, formerly their locked-in pension funds, rise and fall.
I can see lots of ways to generate more cash — including not giving free access to live share price streams. I think the whole site needs redesigning as it looks dull/old-fashioned (and the forums are a mess); and I would change the company name to something people can remember/understand instead of alphabet spaghetti.
Btw, Grinder, you can pay an extra £11 a month to remove all the ads.
DUCK AND DIVE
…oh, and put the Italian girl in charge. Don’t know her name but when I rang this morning to ask about upgrading, she answered the ‘phone and had this old cynic eating out of her hand. She could have sold me anything – even QPP, WRN and Greek debt. I imagined her to be Gina Lollobrigida, but angelic with it, and she is, without question, an under-leveraged asset.
Anyway, I’ve now read the latest results and reckon I could fix ADVZXTY in a heartbeat. It doesn’t even have any debt!
2+2=4
Presume Peter O’Reilly still has his 8.5%. Whose side is he on?
Cliff Peat
If you have influence here TW then perhaps you should give them a firm talking to and get them to follow the advice above.
The business needs some fresh thinking/action.
As a “moron” user it irritates me that useful discussion threads (like SRT (say)) could be even better if remodelled –
and that I cannot get a list of “followed” discussion threads up without so many clicks.
(Recommend that they consider engaging with their users to identify real improvements – they might use an “idea management platform” (like Wazoku or other suppliers) to filter the best or identify the most requested improvements.)
Duckanddive wrote: “I think the whole site needs redesigning as it looks dull/old-fashioned (and the forums are a mess); and I would change the company name to something people can remember/understand instead of alphabet spaghetti.”
Totally agree that user experience (UX) needs attention and will cost money – suggest the use of the Lean start-up principles of product/customer fit and testing. I think you are probably sitting on a gold-mine – though now they need to start mining.
And as someone else suggested – if £12 or a similar notional fee for “black” membership was taken up by one third of the existing free subscribers (i.e. 1m.) it would generate £12m additional revenue and transform the business profitability. Getting rid of those users who are not prepared to pay would bring it’s own cost savings too.
A clear and credible statement of intent from the board could see this rebel group off.
Paul Scott
It’s been pretty obvious for years, from the reported numbers, that advfn is a lifestyle business – Directors get nice salaries, but shareholders get nothing. That said, I see the shares are up about 50% in recent weeks, so shareholders can’t really complain too much – maybe a battle for control is what is needed to put some fresh energy into the business, and hence the shares? The advfn website has remained essentially the same for about 15 years, and is very stale, in my view. It could do with a complete re-design, and some interesting & new features. For example why not put bulletin board posts on the chart? That way we could see who was bullish at the lows, and who is therefore listening to. That would also make it easier to cut through all the junk, and home in on the worthwhile posts. That way posters could have their performance measured by the website, so that again one can see who has a good performance, and who is a serial loser. Come on advfn, pull your collective fingers out!!!