The Analysis Menu

The analysis menu provides a range of facilities:

Valuation - Displaying a valuation for the current portfolio
Plot Security Price - Display a graph of a securities prices
Show summary - Display a complete summary for a stock

The analysis menu is just one set of menu options on the entire XSM menu bar. The overview provides a complete top level list of all menus.

Displaying a valuation for the current portfolio

The valuation display provides a high level summary of the current portfolio. By default it shows a current summary (from the 'Options' menu), which means that for every security currently held (at least one stock owned) in the portfolio, summary information will be displayed.

The 'number' column indicates how many securities are currently owned (e.g. owned today).
The 'price' column gives the current price. This will be today's price if the price database has been updated today otherwise it will be the most recent price in the price database.
The 'value' column shows the value of the current holding (number * price).
The 'cost' column indicates the average cost of the holding.
The '% chg' column is the compounded percentage increase in value based on today's price and the average purchase price.
'Dividend' is the total dividend payment received to date.

An alternative mode of display is available. Under 'Options', if historic display is requested then all securities that are currently held in the portfolio or were held in the past will be summarized.

Display a graph of a securities prices

When the 'Plot Security Price' option is selected, a dialog will appear, offering you the choice of all available securities (not just those in the current portfolio). You may select any security for the price graph. There are three special entries in this list, that you may also wish to consider:

Portfolio cost - The total cost of the current portfolio
Portfolio profit - The total profit (total-cost) of the current portfolio.
Portfolio total - The total value of the portfolio.

Although these are not securities, frequently a graph of this information is useful to assess how effectively a portfolio is being managed.

Once a security has been selected, the graph will be drawn in a window. You can expand the window in the normal manner or use the scroll bars to locate the area of interest.

If you wish to switch to an alternative security, simply click on 'Select' on the 'Security' menu. A hardcopy of the graph can be obtained if needed, although you may wish obtain a complete summary for a stock if you are using a hardcopy device. The Window should be closed with the 'Close' option under 'Project'.

Display a complete summary for a stock

The 'Show Summary' option on the 'Analysis' menu will write a complete summary for a security to an output device. If desired, a preview of the output to the display is possible. When this menu option is selected, a dialog with all the currently owned securities is displayed. Securities that are not within the active portfolio will NOT be displayed. Simply click on the security that is of interest or enter its name in the text input box (the displayed list will move to show those whose names nearly match).

When the security has been displayed the printer dialog will be displayed. Simply configure and select the output device for the summary and click on 'OK' to confirm. The output will be produced and in the case of 'previews' displayed on the screen.

The summary will include price information, transactions and dividends. This is illustrated in the sample output.