If you have a portfolio of stocks, bonds, or other investments, then you may crave up-to-the-minute news on a potential investment -- even if you're away from your computer. Perhaps you also like to read about the latest trends in the business world. If so, Google Finance -- a comprehensive financial Web site developed by Web-search giant Google -- may help you customize the way you receive information about your investments.

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Floor of the New York Stock Exchange
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Financial Web sites such as Google Finance help millions of people monitor their portfolios and the events on Wall Street.
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Part of the Google family of Web sites, Google Finance debuted in 2006. It competes with many other financial Web sites, including Yahoo! Finance and MSN Money, the leading financial Web sites in terms of visitors [source: 24/7 Wall Street]. Unlike other financial Web sites, Google Finance has no advertising.

Google Finance Bumps Competitor
Before the arrival of Google Finance, people who entered a stock symbol in the Google search engine received a list of links with Yahoo! Finance in the top, or default, position. Today, if you enter a symbol the default link will be to Google Finance. Referrals to Yahoo! still appear, but in a lower position [source: CIO].

In this article, we'll explore some of its main features. You'll learn how to find information specific to a stock or fund, use interactive charts, personalize portfolios, and participate in discussion groups. You'll also learn about some of the more advanced options for customizing your Google Finance page.

But first things first: You can't personalize a portfolio if you don't have one. Read on to find out how to create your Google Finance portfolio.