Stock Portfolio Software

[RichKid]

RichKid,
When I've had a chance to read that Van Tharp book, I'll have a look at what else I can add to the program. Remember though that it's just a portfolio manager, not a charting program. It doesn't do back testing. I use AmiBroker for that.

Yes, we're on the same path here, I'm happy for it to be separate from the charting. My understanding of backtesting is it looks at figures from trades you would have taken had certain criteria been met (as specified in the formula eg 24 day EMA crosses over 70EMA=buy, opposite =sell...etc). That's why the charting programmes are integrated with the portfolio testing since they rely on each other but we don't need it here if we record all the figures ourselves as they are the result of a particular strategy (it doesn't matter what strategy it is so we don't need charting software as you would to backtest a crossover method for example)

What the stats from your programme will be doing is extracting the information from your ACTUAL trades, as recored in the portfolio.
So if you had three different trades for say AZR, BHP, OST and they led to returns (profit/loss) of $100, -$90, $20 etc then the average win for example would have been $60 and average loss would be $90. That data would hence be in the portfolio under the profit and loss for each of the stocks (once position closed). That's just a very basic example of one set of data. As Van Tharp explains in the Video tutes referred to earlier you need to calculate your expectancy value too, again the tutes will show that than can be done via existing data. You'll know once you see the tutes. There may be an issue as to recording amount risked via stop loss setting but we can take that on later.

The transaction history files give all the data necessary for tax returns (I hope - I haven't got up to doing one yet to see if I'm missing anything). While they don't isolate each financial year, it should be very easy to generate the annual figures using formula in Excel that only sum over the cells for that one year. Alternatively the year's worth of data could be copy and pasted to another page to give a report for just that year.

Thanks GP.

Now that you mention it though, it would be good to be able to generate annual reports, perhaps as formatted RTF files. And for the portfolio financial and transaction figures, it would probably be good too to keep annual versions as well as lifetime versions. I'll have to look at doing that.
Cheers,
GP

Sounds good, look forward to the results, fortunately we've got a few months before it's all due. Thanks for the effort, enjoy VAn Tharp!

 

[GreatPig]

Re: Stock Portfolio Software V1.4

I've been using this program for quite some time now without any changes, and think I have all the main features in there working properly, so here's the latest version. There have been a few changes since the last version, primarily due to things I found when I went to do tax returns this year.

Warning: There is an incompatibility with the last version in the use of the porfolio value files. These files have to be of a fixed line length, padded with spaces, and this is now longer than before. The older value files will not work with this version.

It is highly recommended that you backup all your existing files before starting to use this version, and also rename any existing "*.val.csv" files to something like "*.val_old.csv" so that a new value file will be started. If you don't already have a lot of transactions entered, I would suggest starting afresh and re-entering them all from scratch.

The trade history file also has more columns now, although will still work with the original files. There will just be a few extra columns from the date when this version is used. The original files gave a profit figure on sales, which already subtracted buy and sell brokerage and GST, however a gain figure was also required without brokerage and GST subtracted, and separate figures for total brokerage and GST (buy+sell).

The portfolio value file has had a couple of extra figures added to each line, with each line now being:

date, amount paid, current value, realised profit, net position

where the net position is the current portfolio open position gain plus the realised gain. If you really want to keep using the existing value files, then when first starting this version, create a new test portfolio, add a few stocks, and then save the value (you'll need a current share price file for that). Looking in the created .val.csv file will then show how long the lines have to be, and you can then edit the existing value files by adding spaces to the end of each line to make them exactly that long (they must all be exactly the right length).

The attached archive includes an updated manual. Some features are specific to my situation, so use at your own discretion.

If you have any questions or problems, just holler

Cheers,
GP

 

[bullmarket]

Using Spreadsheets to Monitor Portfolios

Morning everyone

If anyone knows their way around a spreadsheet, say like Excel, then I think it's well worth putting in the time and effort to set up your own fully customisable spreadsheet to monitor your portfolio. You will then have a portfolio manager that is set up exactly how you want it and it will do exactly what you want and how you want.

I've set up lookup tables with my broker's current brokerage rates, ato tax rates, cash deposit interest rates. The spreadsheet then uses the data in these tables to calculate the after brokerage and/or after tax value of my portfolio. When brokerage, interest and tax rates change I simply update the lookup tables and the spreadsheet automatically recalculates my portfolio using the new data.

In Excel you can also set up some pretty flash charts and graphs (pie, line, bar charts etc) to visually display the value and performance of your portfolio over time.

Anyway, the above is just food for thought for those that use spreadsheets or are interested in looking to use them and wondering what they can do. Basically, spreadsheets are a very powerful tool for monitoring and even evaluating potential investments.

cheers

bullmarket

 

[tech/a]

I've been using Stator for a while and Gotta say its the best Ive found.
$was around $295 I think.

Here is a report on the product

http://www.startraderreport.com/Stator/Stator.html

 

[zzkazu]

I use it too; its great for what I need.

zzkazu

 

[GreatPig]

As a general comment, I should just point out that my program is only intended as a relatively simple portfolio manager, which I primarily wrote because I found the one in AmiBroker next to useless for my situation.

As well as displaying the current portfolio and overall basic financial figures though, it also generates trade history files, detailing every trade made along with gain, brokerage and GST for taxation purposes, dividend history files detailing every dividend and franking amount, cash transaction history files detailing all cash amounts added and taken out, and portfolio value history files detailing realised gain (closed equity) and net position (including open gain) for every day. All files are in spreadsheet CSV format, and of course will only be accurate if the information is correctly entered. It can also support an unlimited number of portfolios, although will only display details for one at a time. Switching between portfolios is as simple as selecting the portfolio from a drop-down list.

While I haven't bothered to add a pile of statistics, I think most could be calculated from the information provided in the files if I really wanted to do that. All I have done is provide a very simple text summary report for a selected financial year to assist with taxation. I might add other stats later if I feel it's worthwhile.

As I really wrote this for my own use, it has a few features that are specific to my circumstances, and ties in with my personal AmiBroker plugin which reads the portfolio files (similar to how my stops plugin reads a simple portfolio file to get the purchase dates). As I have both investment and trading portfolios, which are treated differently for tax purposes, the figures generated give me the information I need for both.

For my tax returns, the figures generated allow me to create spreadsheets in Excel, just requiring a bit of presentation formatting and resaving as XLS files, plus adding some overall totals and summary information at the end. A couple of things I have to do manually are highlight which trades are still open in the investment portfolio, as the buy brokerage cannot be subtracted until the shares are sold, and work out which closed trades were held for more than 12 months and thus allowed the 50% CGT discount. I also manually create an overall summary spreadsheet that summaries my position for the year (ie. summarises the results from the separate trade, dividend, and cash spreadsheets). The spreadsheet formats took me a little while to get right this year, as it was my first year, but now I have templates which will make it much easier in subsequent years.

And of course some things I have to leave for my accountant to work out as they're just too hard - things like demergers where there might be combined dividends and capital returns with deferred tax components and even special tax rules about how to handle the changes, and stapled security distributions which include trust distribution and company dividend components. I just whack them all in as simple dividends and let the accountant sort them out properly.

When I submitted the spreadsheets to my accountant to do the tax returns, I asked him if they were okay or needed more information, and he replied that they were very good, much better in fact than he normally gets from his clients. That's good enough for me

Anyway, it's there, it's free, and it seems to be doing the job for me. You're welcome to try it and use it if you like it - on an all care and no responsibility basis of course .

Cheers,
GP

 

[zzkazu]

Looks excellent Great Pig might have saved me a few bucks if I hadn't bought the other program. Thanks for sharing it with us.

zzkazu

 

[ozzie]

Hi I am new to your forums, just wanted to say thanks for all the info I found on this site. My question is has anyone ever came across this pitbull trading program? I found that the stocks and commodities magazine did a report on them and that they offer a 2 week free trial for the program. But has anyone had any experience with it?
here is the site I found the info on.
http://www.financialreview.biz
any advice would be very helpful.
Thanks

 

[peter_g]

I've seen in another thread people talking and asking about software or spreadsheets to keep track of their share portfolios.

I'm using a program I wrote myself, which I'm happy for anyone to use if they want to. It's a Windows application that should run on any 32 bit platform (although I've currently only tried it on XP Pro).

The program is really only designed for managing shares, and has no special fields for things like extra descriptions, margin levels, target prices, stop levels, etc. (which I've seen in a couple of the spreadsheets attached to the other thread). I use a separate plugin in AmiBroker for things like stops and other trading signal information.

What it can do though is manage multiple portfolios, allowing the current stocks to be displayed for each portfolio along with the basic information like purchase date and price, quantity, and brokerage. It can also display the current value and loss or gain if an appropriate-format price file is available (an FCharts-compatible text file as supplied by float.com.au).

Buttons are then provided to inject or remove cash, record dividends, and buy and sell stocks. As well as updating the portfolio list itself, they also update the cash balance of the portfolio and, for buying and selling stock and for dividends, transaction and history files that record all such transactions. These files are all comma-delimited CSV files, so can be imported into Excel if desired (although they'll then require a little formatting to be presentable).

I've written a manual with it, although it should mostly be intuitive (except for a few features that link in with my AmiBroker plugin). The software and manual are attached. The manual is a Word97 document. I was going to upload a PDF file for it but it's too big for the forum, which only seems to allow individual file attachments of around 98K (the PDF file is 190K odd as it has a few screen captures in it). The Word document is much smaller. Both files have been zipped with WinZip 8.0.

You'll need a screen resolution of at least 1024 x 768 to use the program, preferably higher. It's been written as a dialog application, meaning it's not resizable. It just fits on a 1024 x 768 screen (or at least did the last time I tried it).

Naturally all use of the program is at your own risk. I am using it myself though, so if you do find any problems with it, or have any ideas for changes, I'm happy to hear them (although I'm too busy to do much more to it right now). Since I started using it, it's saved me a lot of time filling in spreadsheets and other records.

Cheers,
GP

Hi GP, i know you posted this article a long time ago but i am trying to find an Excel spreadsheet that allows me to simply keep track of the CGT owed if i sell a parcel of shares that is a different qty to the parcels i have bought and help me keep track of & balance the remaining shares i still hold.
ie
I purchased 1,000 shares of Company ZZZ on 1.1.2000 @ $10 / share. Brokerage fee of $10. Total cost + Brokers fee = $10,010.

I now sell 350 shares of Company ZZZ on 1.1.2021 @ $40 / share. Brokerage fee of $25. Total Sale - Brokers fee = $13,975

If i use the F.I.F.O basis of calculating the CGT owed on selling this parcel of shares i presume i use a formula like the following:
13,975 - 350 (10,010 / 1,000) = Profit made on these shares.
13,975 - 3,503.5 = $10,471.50 Profit. As shares are owned > 12 months CGT is calculated on 50% of Profit (ie $5,235.75)

To calculate the cost basis of remaining holding of 650 shares it would be: 650 (10,010 / 1,000) = $6,506.50

If yourself or anybody else who knows how to make an easy to use Excel spreadsheet which can keep track of multiple buys / sells ... especially if the Qty's sold differ from the Qty's originally purchased i would be eternally greatful.

Cheers,

P_G

 

[The Triangle]

Hi GP, i know you posted this article a long time ago but i am trying to find an Excel spreadsheet that allows me to simply keep track of the CGT owed if i sell a parcel of shares that is a different qty to the parcels i have bought and help me keep track of & balance the remaining shares i still hold.
ie
I purchased 1,000 shares of Company ZZZ on 1.1.2000 @ $10 / share. Brokerage fee of $10. Total cost + Brokers fee = $10,010.

I now sell 350 shares of Company ZZZ on 1.1.2021 @ $40 / share. Brokerage fee of $25. Total Sale - Brokers fee = $13,975

If i use the F.I.F.O basis of calculating the CGT owed on selling this parcel of shares i presume i use a formula like the following:
13,975 - 350 (10,010 / 1,000) = Profit made on these shares.
13,975 - 3,503.5 = $10,471.50 Profit. As shares are owned > 12 months CGT is calculated on 50% of Profit (ie $5,235.75)

To calculate the cost basis of remaining holding of 650 shares it would be: 650 (10,010 / 1,000) = $6,506.50

If yourself or anybody else who knows how to make an easy to use Excel spreadsheet which can keep track of multiple buys / sells ... especially if the Qty's sold differ from the Qty's originally purchased i would be eternally greatful.

Cheers,

P_G

I use the freebee portfolio tool on investsmart. It doesn't do everything for example change in ticker codes, takeovers, etc- but as long as I keep my trades up to date - I can export the sales transactions data, adjust for 12 month holdings, and its much easier come tax time.