Equity Curves

[tallen3]

Hello,

I just read a review of Fund Manager, looked at the FAQs on this site, and read some of the documentation for the program. I could not tell if the following features are available, so I decided to post these questions for the developers, and also in case users of the program have found work-arounds that would allow me to do what I want to do.

Does Fund Manager allow both open and closed trades to be displayed graphically on a chart with technical indicators?

For example:

Account A has a dozen closed trades and is now holding three open positions. Will Fund Manager easily allow this account's closed history, and current open positions, to be displayed on a chart, just like a price chart, with a couple of moving averages and an RSI at the bottom?

These questions are all related to end-of-day calculations.

Account B has two dozen closed trades and two open positions. Same thing for Account B.

Also for Accounts C and D.

Finally, will Fund Manager allow Accounts A + B + C + D to be added together (lots of closed trades, maybe 5 or 6 open trades) and displayed as one line (just like a price chart using a line instead of candles) with technical indicators (MAs, maybe an RSI at the bottom) on the chart?

Thank you for considering these questions.

Also, to get started, is it a problem importing multiple accounts from multiple brokers?

With the multiple accounts, as I described above, I'd like to be able to look at an account individually, and I'd like to be able to look at the accounts collectively, so 5 or 6 accounts are displayed as one line. And I want to be able to put technical indicators on that line.

Thanks again, I know this is a long question.

Tim

[Mark]

Hi Tim,

In Fund Manager there are portfolio based graphs, and there are investment based graphs. The "Technical Analysis" graph is investment based. You can graph any investment in Fund Manager with any of the investment based graphs, including Technical Analysis. So, yes, you can plot any open investment or any closed investment in this graph, it doesn't matter whether or not you own it.

In the top level "Graphs" menu, all the graph types above the first separator are portfolio based graphs, and below the separator are investment based graphs.

One of the capabilities of Fund Manager is to graph/report at any level in your sub-portfolio hierarchy. So, you can set up multiple accounts, and group them into other sub-portfolios. You can have as much or little hierarchy as you want, and graph/report at any level of this hierarchy. So, for example, you could set up your hierarchy like this:

Code: Select all

- Master Portfolio
  - Taxable Accounts
    - Account A
    - Account B
  - Tax-Free Accounts
    - Account C
    - Account D

and you can graph or report at the account level, at the taxable/tax-free level, or at the master portfolio level. When you graph or report at a particular sub-portfolio level, it includes everything in that sub-portfolio. For example, when you plot the Master Portfolio it will include everything from all 4 of the accounts.

You cannot display portfolios on the technical analysis graph however. That graph is only for investments. You can plot portfolios on any of the portfolio based graphs.

It is perfectly fine to set up multiple accounts from multiple brokers, this is a normal thing to do.

One advanced tip: If you really want to view a sub-portfolio in the Technical Analysis graph you can export the portfolio value to a file, and then re-import that as an investment. You can then plot that investment (which was just your portfolio's daily value) in any of the investment based graphs. See "File / Export / Other / Portfolio Value..." and "File / Import / Prices / Generic...".

[tallen3]

Hello Mark,

Thank you for your quick reply.

I think I understand the differences you described and I'm going to download your program and try it. The ability to download accounts from brokerages is very helpful.

Is downloading accounts from brokers something you recommend doing daily, or after trades are made, or do you recommend doing one download initially to get started and then entering the trades in your program?

If possible, I'd like to make everything as easy as possible and avoid entering buys and sells at brokers and then entering the information again in your program.

Also, in your advanced tip below, it sounds as if I could do what I want to do with sub-folders by exporting the daily value, in a CSV file, and then importing this same CSV file into the investment section, which will display the daily value on a chart with technical analysis. Did I understand this correctly?

The program won't do it directly, but I can export a CSV file and then import the same CSV file, and these extra steps allow the daily value to be displayed with technical indicaors. It sounds as if the process can be done, it just involves a couple of extra steps. Do I have that right?

Finally, in your example below, can the Master Portfolio, which includes all of the sub-folders below it, be exported as a CSV file, and then imported, using the same CSV file, to be displayed as an investment based chart with technical analysis?

In other words, can the daily number for the Master Portfolio be exported and imported in the same manner, which will allow it to be displayed as an investment based graph?

Thank you again,

Tim

[Mark]

Hi Tim,

It is usually easiest to use the "New Portfolio Wizard" to retrieve "Transactions and Positions" to get your accounts set up at first. Once you do this, you would retrieve transactions from your broker to get updates going forward. If your broker is on the supported list, you shouldn't have to manually enter any transaction data, just retrieve it. You can do it as often or infrequent as you wish. I would recommend doing it at least every 90 days though, as some brokers only maintain history for a fixed amount of time on their OFX servers. (The broker's OFX server is what Fund Manager connects to in order to retrieve your data.) Please watch the Getting Started tutorial on our website, it will show you how to do this.

Yes, you understood correctly about exporting/importing a CSV file. Yes, you can export any sub-portfolio to a CSV file, including the "Master Portfolio" sub-portfolio in that example.