Re: Reports/ ROI/ Interpolation

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In Reply to: Re: Reports/ ROI/ Interpolation posted by Mark on September 23, 2003 at 20:55:38:

:

: For the ROI yields, including a time period where you don't own any shares

: doesn't change the result. It won't have a positive or negative impact

: on your ROI yield.

: Maybe you're looking somewhere else that I'm not thinking of? Can you let

: me know if this doesn't answer your question, which I suspect it didn't...

: Thanks,

: Mark

: --

Hi Mark,

I now think this is more my problem. Also because it exists as a result of a difference in perspectives and not an error, resolving it could take large amounts of time.

But hopefully I can illustrate my point. (Or someone can straighten me out.) This is not a request for a fix.

When asked to determine a yield for a Term longer than I've owned the stock, FM calculates the yield for the period of ownership, and then presents this for the Term.

This is not incorrect; that is in fact all I've gotten in the period in question. However, it is probably not the yield I would have gotten had I actually owned the stock for the entire Term.

Comparing this yield to that of a stock held for the entire Term will not be meaningful, but unless I check purchase the dates, I won't know.

I am not saying the shorter-held stock is at a disadvantage; its yield could of course be higher.

From the view of "what you did with your money", that's reality. But it is less useful to me as a tool to quickly compare stocks.

Example:

For a stock I've owned for 21 months, FM gives a 20-month yield of 12.12 %, and a 42-month yield of 12.12%. It does so without as much as an asterisk, as it has good price data for the Term. If I had actually owned the stock for 42 months, the yield almost certainly would not be 12.12%.

Observation:

I have 43 months of price data for this stock. I change Preferences to ask for a 45 month yield instead of 42. Now I get "N.A." for the 45 month Term because FM won't calculate a yield without price data. But it doesn't need that data now any more than it needed it before, because it would only calculate back 21 months.

Perhaps unless both price data and ownership exist for the term requested, FM could say "N.A.".

Meanwhile I will edit my price files to match purchase dates.

Thanks.

Dale

Replies:

• Re: Reports/ ROI/ Interpolation Mark 15:18:27 09/24/03 (0)