Hi Folks: 

In today’s discussion, we’ll explain how to use Investment Account Manager with StockCentral’s Stock Data feed.  You’ll find this compatibility helpful for completing necessary entries for common stocks as they are first added into IAM 2.0, or for updating existing stocks for newer information.  IAM is provided with a 60 day free trial subscription to StockCentral’s data feed for you to try out these time-saving features. 

First, let’s look at how SC data is used when entering a new stock to the IAM asset library.  

• Open the trial version of IAM v2.0.
• Select the Asset Library Menu | Current Asset Library choice.
• Select the Add button.
• For Symbol, enter INFY.            
• For Security Type, select the drop down arrow and select Common Stock.
• You’ll notice a pop-up that prompts to use StockCentral data for completing descriptive information for this stock.  Click ‘Connect’.
• IAM will now download for INFY descriptive information automatically, such as name, sector, size, and other information.  The use of SC data make the process of entering new stocks to IAM a snap!
• Click the ‘save’ button to save this entry, and then ‘exit’ to close the asset library. 

While the steps above can be used when entering a new issue to IAM, users will want to also update all stocks within IAM’s asset library to reflect more recent information.  To do this:

• Select the Asset Library Menu | Update Data | StockCentral Data Services. 
• A grid will next show all stocks in the Investment Account Manager library. 
• Click on the Update button to begin the download of SC data to IAM 2.0. 
• Once completed, an updated grid will show the newly downloaded data. 
• Use the Help button to review the data displayed, and when ready, click on the Import button. 
• Just like that Investment Account Manager has been updated with most recent Stock Central data.

Once the stock data has been downloaded from StockCentral.com, Investment Account Manager is able to use this information to help you identify current allocations of your common stocks by both sector and size.  You can easily review this information by selecting the Allocation Summary tab (advanced mode) on the IAM home page, and then selecting the tab for either Sector Allocation or Size Allocation.  These reports can also be created from the Reports Menu | Portfolio Reports | Portfolio Allocation.  The ability to view your allocation in relation to any target goals enables you to identify any necessary rebalancing.

Another use of the stock data downloaded from StockCentral is the valuation ratios derived by Portfolio Manager.  Select the Asset Library Menu | Current Asset Library | Valuation Ratios tab.  Fundamental ratio analysis is an investment approach that focuses on specific relationships, or ratios, of the financial data of a company. This method offers a "snap shot" of a company's value, where the analysis is a review of a firm's financial report. Recognizing the importance of these relationships and ratios, the Investment Account Manager provides the investor with a comprehensive set of variables that can be used to derive informative ratios that may be helpful in discovering undervalued securities. Many of the ratios provided in IAM 2.0 are those made famous by Peter Lynch.  Refer to the Help topic provided on this screen for a detailed description of the fundamental ratios provided.

This concludes today’s topic.  Please ask questions on the described features.  Tomorrow we’ll review the process of importing data from BetterInvesting’s Fund Data Services.

See you then,

Matt

Hi Ron,

Thanks for the questions.. 

Those ratios are not shown since the SC data feed currently does not offer IAM the estimates for projected earnings (estimated earnings per share for the upcoming year) and the earnings growth rate (the estimated growth rate in earnings for the next five years).  However, if you select the edit tab for one of your stocks, and enter these estimates, you'll find those ratios are then derived. 

While we're at it, here's a neat tip on how to best use the valuation ratios tab.  Users can easily filter and sort the valuation ratios grid to improve their analysis process.  

• The table can be resorted on a specific column by left double-clicking a column header, or moved by using a single left-click of the mouse and then dragging the column to a new location.

• Use the Look For window to search for a specific item in the left-hand column.

• Sort the Valuation Ratios in either Ascending or Descending order by selecting the appropriate radial dial. The list will be resorted, based on the left column field, in either ascending or descending order. For example, if you first left double-click on the ‘yield column’, this will position the yield column at the far left of the grid. Now click on ascending or descending to list in this order, sorted by yield.

• You can filter the valuation ratios tab to show all securities in the current asset library, or filter by specific portfolio by clicking the drop down arrow to the right of the filter box, selecting the portfolio, and then selecting the Go! Button. This filtering ability will be useful if you analyzing ratios for a specific portfolio’s holdings.

• Use the Default Settings button to restore the asset library table to pre-defined column widths and order.

• Print Library: use this button to print the valuation ratios, in the user defined sort order.

• Notice in the lower left corner the black area to the left of the scroll arrow. If you place your mouse pointer over this bar, you’ll notice the pointer turns into a bar. This bar can be dragged to the right to set a fixed left hand column. Users will find this helpful when scrolling to the right. Other column data will then scroll below this fixed column.

 Hope this helps... 

Matt