A Big Plus for ADVFN Level 2 - or is that Level 3

Something that I'd been hoping would happen for a while has finally happened on ADVFN.

And by the way, ... before I tell you what it is, ADVFN hasn't sent me a pack of used tenners to write this column as I'm writing this 100% independently. I believe in what I write and this is NOT an advertorial! Ok?

So what is it then? Well, it's ADVFN's new level 3 service, which means that for the first time ever you can see ALL trades - including those made on the other exchange - Plus Markets. It's the first time anyone has managed to come up with a total and complete extension of the level 2 service.

Previously, it used to be a very cumbersome exercise to find out if any buys or sells had been made in several of my holdings. I would have to go onto the Plus Markets website, log on and even then the trades would be delayed by 20 minutes.

It is fabulous to see the Plus Market trades coming through live as they happen and it makes it far easier to decide what's happening to a share price - and why. Additionally, you can see all the positions of the market makers in Plus Markets. If you have ADVFN level 2 trades coming through, plus markets are marked with a "+" sign. Plus market makers are also shown with a + sign after their code.

This new addition to level 2 will become more and more important as Plus Markets grow in size. You will no longer need to look at trades coming in and ask: "Why wasn't my trade published?" Now you will be able to see it.

As Clem Chambers, head honcho at ADVFN puts it: "Level 2, as we currently know it, only shows LSE trading data. As such, it is an incomplete picture of what is happening in the market. Without PLUS trading information, investors simply don't have an accurate and comprehensive view of market trading."

"ADVFN champions the private investor and therefore fully supports PLUS in its creation of an alternative deep pool of trading liquidity, which has become a crucial part of UK share trading."

I'm just about to head off for a cruise around the Med in a six star boat (yes, I know - lucky me etc. etc...) so my next column will appear here sometime in the week beginning May 21st.