Downloading from Brokerage Firms & Portfolio Question

[heidiasst]

Mark,

Marshall want to get things more automated but, I have been holding back.

I have read about the download issues while being on this board and we encountered
some as well while trying this a few times over the years.

I have manually entered all trades over the years and manually reconciled the statements.

We currently have approximately 50 brokers spread out between approximately 15 Brokerage firms.

If we were to change to downloading everything, when would that take place? Could that be set up to run automatically or would that be something that I did at the beginning of every day?

Also, can FM handle posting transactions with DVP accounts? Delivery vs Payment?

Final question, our current portfolio has the original price and value of stocks, is there anyway we can also get this to list the current stock price & value?

Alot of questions, my apologies! Heidi

[Mark]

Hi Heidi,

You can use any combination of manual entry, importing, or retrieving that you want. Retrieving is the most automated, but requires you to know the login credentials of the account, so many advisors don't use this method, and import from the institutional interfaces instead. With these, you generally download a set of files for each day, and then import. The exact methodology for obtaining these files varies by broker. See the "File / Import / Transactions" menu commands, and press "Help" under the interface you would want to use for more explanation on how to obtain your institutional data files. For info on retrieving transactions, see this.

There is nothing special about tracking a DVP account, other than just finding out the best way for you to get your transactions into FM.

Final question, our current portfolio has the original price and value of stocks, is there anyway we can also get this to list the current stock price & value?

What window are you referring to? The Portfolio Editor? If so, use "View / List Columns..." and you can add any fields you want from that list.

[heidiasst]

Thanks Mark,

I know the login credentials for all of our accounts.

But, would I be downloading a file for every broker we
have? Or is it one download that takes care of everything?

Does this include our banking as well?

I was trying to see if I could have a column on our "Portfolio Value" Report that lists
the stock price at the end of the day and the current end of the day value for a position?

[Mark]

Hi Heidi,

If you have all the login credentials, it is easiest to use the transaction retrieve feature. You go to the properties of each account level sub-portfolio, and under "Transaction Retrieve Settings..." enable this feature, select your broker, and enter your credentials. You then do a retrieve once at the top level, and it will retrieve all your accounts for you.

Are you using the standard Portfolio Value report, or is this a Custom report you created? The standard Portfolio Value report already has these fields you're asking for, and you can also add them to a Custom report.