Software for tracking shares

surelle · 28 January 2006

Does anyone have any good suggestions on software available to track share movement?

I need to find something that can handle capital reconstruction and name changes and will report on that basis.

Don't want to spend too much on it...any tips?

regards

bullmarket · 29 January 2006

Hi surelle and welcome

I suppose it depends on what features and functions you need from the software as well.

Anyway, below is a reply I posted to a similar question over at Stock Meeting Place.

Hi MadRed,

Until recently, when my annual data subscription expired, I had been using Quicken's ShareAnaylser charting software with its inbuilt scanner. I am happy to use Comsec's advanced charting for now.

Now before anyone has a go at me for using SA, let me state that I am an investor whose main priority nowadays is income and so I am not a day or short term trader and so I don't need all the bells and whistles that some of the much more expensive software might have.

Anyway, back to your original query MadRed, SA has end of data data available for download from 6:30pm EDST and data-on-demand (DOD) available intra day but the DOD is 20 mins delayed. I used to use SA's inbuilt scanner quite a bit and it, like all scanners I suppose, can easily check for gap up/down on historical data. I never used the scanner on the intraday DOD data and so unfortunately I cannot confirm whether the scanner will work on DOD or not. Also I only used to use DOD on a chart by chart basis when I was looking at a specific stock. I don't know if you can download all the DOD for the ASX in one hit.

If interested, the best thing to to would be to go to the www.quicken.com.au website and send them an email.

Good luck.....and just as a side note, I'll post below a copy of my thoughts on SA I posted on another site in case you're looking for a complete charting software system

cheers

bullmarket

========================================
Hi ann

I hope you manage to find this post in reply to your query in Other Business.

I have been using Quicken's ShareAnalyser charting software for a while now.
It doesn't have all the bells and whistles that some of the more expensive packages have, but being an investor and not a trader, I don't need them either.

Imo the line drawing tools, indicators available (about 20 or so of the most common ones), full screen mode for displaying charts are excellent.

All the indicator settings and line drawing features are fully user customisable if you don't like the defaults.

The data provider is Hubb (in Sydney I think). End of day data is available for downloading from 6:30pm EDST.

SA also has an inbuilt scanner which allows you to scan for stocks using user defined scan criteria like looking for stocks that have fallen 10% in a specified time frame or whose moving averages have crossed etc etc. You don't have to know any computer programming to set up the scan criteria. It's all point and click.

So unless one is a serious full time trader (and even if one is), I can highly recommend at least having a look at SA as an option if looking for charting software. It's a lot cheaper than some of the so-called 'Rolls Royce' software are and with at least 80% of their features imo.

Yes, the chart I posted displayed the Fib's for the Mar03 - Sep05 uptrend, 3 and 10 day moving averages and the MACD and Stochastic indicators which are the main indicators I use on charts.

So, in keeping with my philosophy to KISS I thought why pay for a Rolls Royce when a mini-minor will easily meet my needs

If you would like more info, maybe have a look at

http://www.quicken.com.au

Regards

Hope this helps

bullmarket

surelle · 30 January 2006

Thanks for that Bullmarket.

I simply want a program that will record the easy transactions like buying and selling and dividends received.

I have been using the investment area of quicken cashbook, and it has been fine for those easy transactions, but I find that if you have had a share that changes names or has had its capital restructured (i.e. from 10,000 to 100) Quicken cash book doesn't have the option of converting them.

I'll look into Share Analysis and see.

Thanks for the tip
regards
Surelle

bullmarket · 30 January 2006

Hi surelle

oh ok - I misunderstood your original post

Unfortunately Quicken's ShareAnalyser won't do what you are after as it is essentially a charting software package. It does have a basic trading diary built in but I doubt that is what you are after.

Personally, I use Microsoft's Excel spreadsheet to monitor my portfolio and to keep records of my share transactions and dividends/distributions (franking credits, un-franked components, tax deferred components etc). The spreadsheets also calculate any tax liabilities from dividends/distributions and capital gains/losses.

Imo if you know your way around Excel, or if you have someone to show you at least the basics to get you started, it is well worth considering putting in the effort to set up your own spreadsheet(s) to monitor your portfolio and transactions. You can fully customise a spreadsheet to do exactly what you want and how you want it and not be forced to doing what some 3rd party software restricts you to.

I still have to manually enter the basic data re my holdings as they change but the spreadsheet then does all the number crunching for me automatically.
So if you don't have too large a number of holdings and/or transactions, it's not an onerous task to keep records up to date.

Good luck

bullmarket

surelle · 30 January 2006

thanks again,
I will look into using excel instead, as simple as it seems, its probably more flexible than the software on offer

regards
surelle

bullmarket · 30 January 2006

no problem surelle

Prospector · 30 January 2006

Hi there
I have been using software called 'My Portolio Fronteir' - it handles sp movement updates whenever you want it to, calculates capital gains tax, how to reduce capital gains tax by selling selected shares, dividends, provides you with heaps of reports and is VERY easy to manage once you have put all the initial start up data in. It really is excellent. It handles company changeovers (eg I had Sigma which in December became SIP) so I just email them and they tell me what to do within 24 hours. Very helpful after sales service - I cant recommend them highly enough!

Solo Software House [info@solosw.com]

They will give you a try out version which doesnt really tell you its full value. I have three different portofolis (super, company and personal) and gives a licence for 3 portfolios. I cant remember the cost but it is a once off and really well worth it!

I am in NO WAY involved with the company, just a very happy user

surelle · 30 January 2006

thanks heaps, for that people

I'll look into the options, and let you know how I went

Cheers
Surelle

zzkazu · 30 January 2006

I use startor.

http://www.stator-afm.com/

It will handle with the scenarios you have outlined.

zzkazu

vee303 · 31 January 2006

i created my own access database to record all contract notes/transactions i make. i think creating your own is the best solution because u can tailor it to your needs and most software you'll find is missing something you need.
my database imitates the comsec contract note history and automatically calculates brokerage+gst+gross profit+break even.

i also calculate the gross profit for a list of hypothetical sell points surrounding the buy price for day-trading purposes that allows me to see exactly how much i will make at a single glance.

excel is the easiest but access adds a lot more power. i think database is a better solution because it would allow u to sort and search etc.

surelle · 31 January 2006

thanks Vee303
I'm sure this is just beginners stuff to all of you...but it's helping alot
regards

Prospector · 31 January 2006

vee303 said:
i created my own access database to record all contract notes/
excel is the easiest but access adds a lot more power. i think database is a better solution because it would allow u to sort and search etc.

The software I mentioned before uses Access as its software platform too!

bullmarket · 1 February 2006

Hi vee303

Looks like we are on a similar wavelength.

I've never used Access (I'm assuming you mean Microsoft's) but when I was in the workforce I used to write SQL scripts for an Oracle database and so I can see that with Access you should be able to set up a comprehensive database to monitor a portfolio and share transactions.

I'm using Excel 97, which uses VB (Visual Basic) to allow you to write macros/programs to do all sorts of quite extensive number crunching and data manipulation. The macros can even be set up to be interactive with the user...ie..request data input from the user and then put it in the appropriate location in the spreadsheet, thus making inputing of data virtually 'idiot proof'.

Excel macros can all be run in the background with a simple 'start' button conveniently postioned in the spreadsheet requiring only a mouse-click to start the macro.

But even without using macros, Excel has very powerful built in user selected formulae which the user can use to do the vast majority if not all the number crunching required to monitor a porfolio and share transactions. Basically, Excel can also perform all the functions/calculations you mentioned earlier. Whether it is easier or harder in Excel, I don't know as I'm not an Access user.

cheers

bullmarket

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