Part 1: Tutorial: Quick Portfolio Setup in PRK

Required file, John Q. Smith Holdings 1.pdf

This discussion will provide a hands-on interactive tutorial using the new quick portfolio setup of the NAIC Portfolio Record Keeper, v4.0.6.  This discussion will be a perfect opportunity for newbies to explore the program, as well as a refresher course for existing users. During this weeklong discussion, I will upload several files that will be used for reference purposes.  Please be sure to download the relevant files for our discussion.

If you do not currently own PRK, prior to this discussion, please download and install the NAIC Portfolio Record Keeper demo from http://www.portfoliorecordkeeper.com.  If you currently own PRK v4, be sure your version has been updated to the latest release v4.0.6.  To update your copy, select the help menu | check for updates choice.

Here we go....

• Begin PRK and then select the File Menu | Quick Portfolio Setup New. 

The Quick Portfolio Setup feature in NAIC Portfolio Record Keeper enables users to quickly create portfolios for tracking purposes.  In this discussion, we’ll be entering data using a sample brokerage statement listing accumulated shares and current market values.  Note: if using the quick portfolio setup with your actual data, and you later intend to enter your past historical activity, you can create another portfolio for this purpose (file menu | portfolios | create new).  As time permits, you can enter your historical activity in sequential order to this new portfolio until all transaction activity reflects your most recent statement.  At that point, you can delete the ‘quick portfolio’ first created, and rely on the historical portfolio for future activity, allowing you to take full advantage of PRK.

• You’ll be prompted to enter the Portfolio Name for this quick portfolio setup.  Enter John Q. Smith Holdings.
• Click the Next button to continue.

If you are a subscriber to the NAIC Online Premium Services, you can now enter your subscription information in this screen.  All new common stocks entered in the portfolio setup feature will be updated using OPS for the necessary descriptive information (name, industry, size, etc.).   Note: if you have already entered your OPS subscription prior to this quick portfolio setup, this screen will be omitted.

• Click the ‘Yes’ radial button.
• Enter your NAIC OPS email address
• Enter your NAIC OPS password
• Confirm your NAIC OPS password.
• Click Save to retain your entries.
• Click the Next button

4) We will now create a money fund for this sample portfolio.  A money market fund is included in a portfolio if this account is used for offsetting other transaction activity, like purchases, sales, income, etc.

• Select Yes to create the money market fund.  
• Referring to the sample statement provided for this discussion (John Q. Smith Holdings 1.pdf ), for statement date, enter 08/31/2004.

Attachments
	Name:   john_q._smith_holdings_1.pdf	Size:   17 K

Hi Dan -

Thanks for following along with the discsussion.  I can check on the back space key to make sure it doesn't jump too far back into previous fields.  As for the tab key when entering the stocks, if the stock is already held in the PRK asset library, as is the case with a few of my examples, it will default the asset type into the field, saving some time.  If the stock is new (or any asset), the user needs to identify the type.  Hope that clears it up...

Matt

Welcome, Matt!!  And thanks for taking the time to do this. 

I just want to remind new forum members to be aware that at the bottom of Part One of Matt's tutorial, you'll see "View Full Message".  There's a lot more to Part One than meets the eye.  Clicking on that link will bring up the entire message.

And participants, don't be shy.  This is a golden opportunity to talk directly to Matt as you begin to navigate his fantastic program.

I've been a long time user.  In fact I wrote an article entitled "Paying Attention to Recordkeeping Pays Off".  It talks about my own personal use of PRK.  In case anyone would like to check it out, here's the link.

http://www.better-investing.org/articles/web/342

Nancy Isaacs
NAIC Forum - Long term investing made simple
http://community.compuserve.com/naic

use the home page 'refresh' button in the lower left to derive the year-to-date performance (also shown on the home page lower left) 

Is the price updated after each clicking of the "Refresh" button?  Initially after clicking the "Refresh" button, the current portfolio value changed.  However, subsequently after I clicked the "Refresh" button, the current portfolio value remained static.  TIA.

Dan

Dan -

You can set an option to allow for pricing as part of the home page refresh by selecting the file menu | preferences | home page tab, and checking the option for pricing with refresh.

Matt

Part 2: Tutorial: Quick Portfolio Setup in PRK

Required file, John Q. Smith Holdings 2.pdf

We’ll continue today with Part 2 of our ‘Tutorial: PRK Quick Portfolio Setup’ discussion.  Please be sure to refer to the attached file John Q. Smith Holdings 2.pdf file.

As we concluded Part 1 of this discussion, we completed the quick portfolio setup using our sample data for John Q. Smith.  Recall that the Quick Portfolio Setup feature in NAIC Portfolio Record Keeper enables users to quickly create portfolios for tracking purposes, while immediately benefiting from many of the program features.  Please note if you are using the quick portfolio setup with your actual data, and you later intend to enter your past historical activity, you can create another portfolio for this purpose (file menu | portfolios | create new).  As time permits, you can enter your historical activity in sequential order to this new portfolio until all transaction activity reflects your most recent statement.  At that point, you can delete the ‘quick portfolio’ first created, and rely on the historical portfolio for future activity, allowing you to take full advantage of PRK.

• If you haven’t done so already, begin PRK by selecting the program’s desktop icon. 

Notice that once PRK has loaded, the PRK ‘home page’ appears on your screen, summarizing the information previously entered in part 1 of this discussion.  Today we will review PRK’s Internet pricing feature and the reporting information provided on the home page.  Please refer to page 1 of the John Q. Smith Holdings 2.pdf file.  (Note: the prices and valuations shown on the home page and reports in this file will be different due to the time they were created for this discussion and the pricing data used for your tutorial). 

Internet Pricing

 

After a portfolio has been created, users will need to regularly update security prices to reflect new market prices for up-to-date portfolio valuations. NAIC Portfolio Record Keeper includes several methods for updating assets to reflect current pricing and other investment data.  Users can manually update securities, import outside Internet price files, or automatically access the Internet for free security pricing.

If you have access to a phone line and an Internet dial-up connection, or you connect via cable modem, you can now try the 1-click instant pricing using Yahoo! Finance.  If you are unable to automatically load your dial-up and browser, try minimizing PRK, connect to the Internet as you normally do, and then continue with this feature. 

·        Select the Internet Menu.

·        Click on the button Select All to mark assets for price updating.

·        Click on the button labeled Instant Prices to access the Internet for 1-click instant pricing. 

·

View Full Message

Attachments
	Name:   john_q._smith_holdings_2.pdf	Size:   328 K

Matt,

Thank you very much for your detailed instructions. I followed them and I was able to solve those questions.

The more I use the program, the more I like it and the more powerful it seems. Thanks.

Valsa

Good Morning Valsa -

If you want to quickly combine portfolios to gauge aggregate information (values, diversification, income, etc.), you can simply select this option on the various report setup screens.  For example, if you select from the reports and graphs menu | portfolio | diversifcation | portfolio diversification report, you'll notice on this report setup screen a small grid where you can select 'portfolios to include'.  Just check those you wish to include and click the report button.  PRK immediately combines the selected portfolios for an aggregate view, in this case, the total diversification of those portfolios you selected.  Importantly, the individual portfolios remain intact for their individual reporting.  This method of combining on reports is a great way to get a quick snapshot of everything together.

Now there is another way also to combine portfolios for reporting. Under the file menu | portfolios, you'll see an option to 'copy/combine' portfolios.  In this case, you can select one or more portfolios, and PRK then makes a copy or combination into a NEW UNIQUE portfolio.  So, if you have 4 portfolios in PRK, and combine all together, a new 5th portfolio will be created with all combined data.  The original 4 portfolios remain intact.  This feature is of interest to users that might like to make a yearend combination for a specific reference point in time (although not as necessary given PRK's historical reporting feature). 

Hope that answers your question...

Matt

Valsa,

Yes, that is correct.  Please note, though, the combined account is not updated for continuing activity of the individual portfolios.  Rather, you'll need to create a new combined account to reflect updated individual portfolio activity (you can track as many portfolios you like in PRK, and can removed combined accounts as you like prior to -recombining).   This is why the ability to combine portfolios on reports may be more suitable since these reports will reflect all up to date activity.

Matt

>> Please note if you are using the quick portfolio setup with your actual data, and you later intend to enter your past historical activity, you can create another portfolio for this purpose (file menu | portfolios | create new).  As time permits, you can enter your historical activity in sequential order to this new portfolio until all transaction activity reflects your most recent statement. <<

When I first set up PRK, I decided to enter all of the back history of each of the assets that I still held.  Stocks were no problem as I tended to keep all of my buy/sell slips and my year end statements. 

The more complicated part concerned mutual funds and drips.  I found the mutual fund and drip companies to be extremely helpful.  It was no problem to get complete printouts of every transaction from day one, including income received and reinvestment details.  It was a somewhat tedious process to enter all of that back data but well worth the effort.  Once it's done, it's done.  Then it's simply a matter of keeping those records up to day which takes less than 1/2 hour at the end of each month.

Nancy Isaacs
NAIC Forum - Long term investing made simple
http://community.compuserve.com/naic