When Anthony Walker, CEO of Sharenet, saw that private investors needed professional, real-time access to the markets at an affordable price, he began to develop an application that would bring live JSE information right to investors’ desktops, and allow them to trade at their own convenience. With help from fellow developer Steve Tester, Quickstream was launched to the public five years ago, and since then Sharenet has continually been working to improve and further develop the software, releasing 16 updates to date.

What is Quickstream?

Quickstream is a software application that provides you with live share prices, lists of real-time offers and bids, and volumes of trade for all shares on the JSE. You can also keep track of the top JSE indices, forex and spot prices, major movers, and SENS news, as well as access useful trading statistics and intraday graphs. Not just a centre for up-to-the-second information, Quickstream allows you to immediately put through a trade with integrated order placement and monitoring. Creating a custom view of your portfolio allows you to track the movements of all your shares together on one screen.

How does Quickstream work?

Sharenet has access to live feeds from the JSE, and is licensed to distribute this data to clients. The data feeds directly into Quickstream when you open the application and are connected to the Internet.

What do you need to use Quickstream?

To use Quickstream, you’ll need access to a Pentium 4 computer with 20Mb disk space and 512 Mb RAM, and an XP or later operating system. Quickstream works best with a permanent Internet connection such as ADSL or 3G, though a wireless connection works fine as long as the signal is strong. A 56k modem is sufficient if you intend to view twenty shares or less at a time.

 To begin using Quickstream, sign up on the Sharenet website to receive your login details. Then download the application and install it on your computer. Whenever you open the application, you will be asked for your personal login details in order to access the information.

How much does it cost?

You can try Quickstream for 7 days for free. If you decide to keep using Quickstream, a subscription costs R351 (incl. VAT) per month for private investors, while professional users pay R570 (incl. VAT) per month.

Who can you contact for more info?

For more information on Quickstream or other Sharenet products and services, please contact:

Malcolm Thompson

Ph: 021 700 4800

Email: malcolm@sharenet.co.za