Usage

Using Zoom Portfolio Manager

On first run

On first run the program asks you to set your local currency.
Some Stock Exchanges (for example the London Stock Exchange) give Stock Prices in pence (cents) rather than in normal currency format. You should set the default "Price in pence" in the software Options.

You are next asked for the name of your Portfolio (which may be your Stockbroker name/account number or whatever).

Add more Portfolios if you have more than one stockbroker account or holdings in foreign currencies. You should set the currency for each portfolio and whether "Prices in pence". See [Currencies] for more information.

Enter transactions

Add transactions to your portfolios. Currently "Buy", "Sell", "Split" and other transaction are supported however mergers and other types of capital transaction can be worked around using "Buy" or "Sell".

Stock or share ticker Symbols should be entered in Yahoo format (being the symbol followed by a dot followed by the Exchange code).
For instance "AV.L" would be Aviva plc on the London Stock Exchange. A search facility is provided if you do not know the correct symbol.

Once your investment positions are entered you can click the "Research" tab at the bottom to get online information about your holdings.

Reports (Data export)

Spreadsheet exports are implemented by creation of Comma Separated Variable (csv) text files which are able to be imported by all common spreadsheet programs such as M$ Excel or LibreOffice Calc.

The spreadsheet should open automatically however if it does not, or opens in something stupid like Notepad you should locate the csv file by browsing with Windows Explorer to you ZoomPortfolio folder then right-click the file, select "Open with" and "Chose default program" then select your spreadsheet program and ensure that the "Always use this program to open this type of file" tick box is checked.

Features

Click "Update prices" to fetch the prices data and calculate the portfolio values. A failure to get a particular stock price may indicate you have entered an incorrect symbol.
At busy times of day the Yahoo service may be overloaded and you will get errors. You should leave it for an hour or two and try again. Alternativly you can resume a prices update by selecting "Update Prices from Here" from the main meny or the right-click pop-up menu.

Use the "Flag" column when you are reviewing your investments

Select from the drop-down list

• Add to holding : Buy some more when the markets open
• Strong hold : Long term "buy" - no need for regular review
• Weak hold : Short term holding or reaching target price - keep under review
• Source of funds: Okay to hold for now but will sell if something better is identified
• Sell now : Sell when the markets open

Watch out for when results and trading updates are due and enter the date in the "Review" date column. The date will flag yellow in the week before turning red 24 hours before.

Sources of information on the Internet

Add the URLs (from your web browser address bar) of your broker research page, the company's web site and other sources of information to each position so you can go to it easily.

The URL list is used by both the Positions and the Watch list so you do not need to re-enter them when for instance purchasing one of your Watch List stocks.

Cash accounting

Purchases and sales are adjusted on the Portfolio cash balance so that you can keep track of your uninvested cash. In "Simple" mode you can just correct the balance when it is changed by other cash adjustments such as dividends or withdrawals. In "Detailed Cash View" you can enter individual dividends and other transactions. See [Cash Accounting] for further information.

Watch list

On the "Watch list" tab you can enter details of securities that you are interested in. This is useful when researching potential investments when markets are closed.

IMPORTANT

You should take a [Backup] of your data on a regular basis, before installing a software upgrade and before deleting closed positions.

Wiki Home [Home]Installation instructions [Installation]
Backup and Portability [Backup]
Multi-currency support [Currencies]
Help for using the Manager [Usage]
Internet Favourites [Favourites]
Cash Accounting [Cash Accounting]