Finance and investment sites: read this first

Nothing in this directory is financial advice, and a listing here is not an endorsement of any service, platform or strategy. This category carries more risk to the reader than any other, so it is worth being explicit about how to approach it.

The first question for any financial site is whether it is regulated and by whom. Investment services, credit broking and insurance sales require authorisation in most jurisdictions, and a regulated firm will name its regulator and registration number, usually in the footer. A site offering these services without naming one is either operating under an exemption it should explain, or operating without authorisation.

The second question is how the site is paid. Comparison sites, broker review sites and "best platform" rankings are almost universally commission-funded, and the ranking often reflects the commission. That does not make the information worthless, but it does mean the order is not a quality judgement.

The third is about tone. Legitimate financial content is boring, hedged, and full of caveats about risk. Content that promises returns, implies certainty, or creates urgency is doing something else. Cryptocurrency and trading education are the two areas where this is most pronounced.