THE GOBBLE IT UP EDITION
23 NOVEMBER 2011
GOT A QUESTION? SUPPORT STAFF TO THE RESCUE!
Answers Are Ready to be Gobbled Up!
There's plenty to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. Your reporter has her eye on the ICLUBcentral staff – specifically, Sean Pulrang, who does an absolutely fabulous job of answering the questions that come into StockCentral by phone and email. The questions run the gamut, so they really keep Sean hustling. But he's up for the task. Sean and the other members of the ICLUBcentral staff not only keep those answers coming, but they also post the ones of general interest in The Toolshed so that all SC members can benefit.
The Toolshed is the place to go if you have a question about anything regarding ICLUBcentral's software, websites and investing tools. And here's another take on The Toolshed from your savvy reporter's point of view: You may not think you have a question until you go there. Spend a few minutes perusing the Q&A's that Sean posts and you may be surprised at the answers you get for the questions you didn't even know you had!
Take this one, for example, from an SC member and answered by Sean on Nov. 4. It's a question on the Stock Analyst and why it shows zeroes in Section 2B:
As with a lot of the posts I put here, this is inspired by a recent call. I've only run into this a handful of times, but when it happens, the solution isn't immediately obvious.
The issue is that sometimes even when all data appears filled in, Section 2B of the SSG will show zeroes.
When I've run into this, it has appeared each time when the stock is not set to use book value in place of common equity. This is a setting that can be made for each stock individually, so if you see it in one place, it doesn't necessarily mean that it will appear in all of your stocks
That said, here's what I've found on how to correct this issue:
- When you have the stock open, click the Data Entry Button.
- From the window that comes up, click the Yearly Data tab. Next to the Basic EPS column, you'll see Common EQ, or Common Equity. Click the Options tab and you'll see a section titled "Common Equity or Book Value".
- Click the selection for Book Value, and then click the Yearly Data tab again. You'll notice that the column that was named Common EQ is now Book Val. Per $ Anything you fill in here will be used in the calculation for section 2B.
- You may need to save the stock, then close and re-open it for the change to take place, but once the stock is updated, the zeroes should go away.
- What you may also notice is that even if you go to the options tab and switch between common equity and book value, the yearly data will preserve the data entered in the column. Even if you fill in the book value, then switch the column to show common equity, the program will retain the book value data, and use it to calculate the figures for section 2B.
Earlier this year, your reporter hosted a workshop in the StockCentral Forums with Sean. You can still access the content of this workshop – which focused on investment club support – by going to The Workshop section in the SC forum. Scroll down and look for Sean's name beside the entries for this multiple-day Q&A.
And let Sean know whether what you see there sparks any ideas. Who knows? Maybe your reporter can talk Sean into hosting another workshop in the very near future!
MEASURING CONSISTENT GROWTH WITH TOOLKIT
Locating — and Understanding — R2
Speaking of gobbling up answers to some of the toughest software questions, check out this recent exchange on R2 or R-squared, which took place between SC member Arnold Siemsen and SC founder Doug Gerlach in The Classroom:
Arnold Siemsen, who had trouble locating R2, posted this question:
Has R2 been permanently deleted from the TSSW and SSG in the online version of Take Stock? I can no longer find the value on the Stock Central site. Any reason?
Rest assured it is still there, per this reply from SC founder Doug Gerlach:
It's still there, where it has always been. Look on page 1 of the TSSW on the right below the 10-year data table at the top, in the Growth Stat % table. The first row is Stability, which is the R2 value.
Not only will you find this answer in The Classroom, but scroll up just a little bit to find a complete explanation on what R2 is — and how your club can best use it in its own stock studies:
R^2 (R2 or R-squared) is an indicator of how well the historical data conforms to the trend line that is calculated by the program. Toolkit uses the "least squares" to find the trend line that lies closest to all of the plotted points. The R-squared value measures how closely the plotted points are to the trend line, and ranges in value from 0 to 1. The closer the number is to 1 the better, with 1 representing perfect correlation and 0 representing no correlation.
Thus, the closer the R-squared value is to a perfect 1.0, the straighter the line is formed by the points on the graph, or, in other words, the more consistent the growth of the company has been in the past. R-squared is useful when searching for stocks, since you can restrict your search for companies that have a high level of consistency with respect to their historical growth.
Along the bottom of the Stock Study form are the year labels and six data fields representing historical sales growth, historical earnings growth, estimated (future) sales growth, estimated (future) earnings growth, and the R2 values for sales and EPS growth. (From the Toolkit 6 manual, pg. 97 in the 6.2 edition.)
SPEAKING OF TOOLKIT 6 …
Updates Are Just Around the Corner!
From SC member Jeff Traeger, posted in The Suggestion Box just a few days ago:
When might we see the next update to TK 6? It's been a while since the last one. What are some of the additions under consideration?
And the answer, coming from Doug Gerlach:
We are testing version 6.4.3 right now, actually. It should be released in the next week or so. We have about two dozen fixes and new features in the update.
Your reporter hopes to work with Doug on a column featuring those fixes and features – and just how your club can get the most out of ‘em! In the meantime, let's talk turkey and get ready to gobble up more answers to your most challenging and thought-provoking questions in the SC Forums! Happy Thanksgiving from all of us here at StockCentral!
THE CLOCK IS TICKING . . .
Pre-Order 2011 Federal and State Tax Printers and Save!
Perhaps one fellow investor told you that some states do not require investment clubs to file returns, while another said that some states levy stiff penalties for clubs that fail to file. Who's right?
Both. (You didn't expect a simple answer on the topic of tax filing, did you?)
Tax filing procedures differ from state to state. Contact your state's tax department (such as the Department of Revenue or Department of Taxation) for more information about your particular state's requirements. And take note: Tax laws do change, so even if your state did not require filings in the past, they may have changed their requirements for the 2011 tax year.
If that sounds a bit daunting and you're looking for top-notch support, you've come to the right place! Get your investment club ready for tax preparation early by pre-ordering your Federal and State Club Tax Printers from ICLUBcentral — the #1 tax preparation software for investment clubs.
The Federal and State Tax Printer software retails for $89.99 (a fraction of the cost of a professional tax preparation service), but many discounts are available. But act now, our special early bird pricing ends in 12/31/11! Get a jump on Tax Season and pre-order your Tax Printers today.
TODAY'S ENTIRELY RELEVANT QUOTATION
“If you count all your assets, you always show a profit.”
— Robert Quillen, late American Journalist and Humorist