Shareware Overload/ShartewareOverload.cdr/busi/wmf.zip/WMF.DOC

Text File | 1987-07-25 | 18KB | 297 lines

                 USER GUIDE TO THE WEEKLY MUTUAL FUNDS PROGRAM

SUMMARY OF FEATURES

     WMF (Weekly Mutual Funds) is an inexpensive program which provides a
quick and easy way to track the weekly performance of as many as 104 mutual
funds or stocks.  Features for version 1.1 include:

         * Fast manual entry of weekly closing prices.
         * Fast manual entry of dividend and capital gains.
         * Easy addition or deletion of funds.
         * Sequential chart display of funds.
         * Option to plot closing prices or payout-adjusted prices.
         * Import of data from other programs using text files.
         * Export of data via text files.

     Requires an IBM compatible computer able to display CGA graphics.

     WMF, version 1.1, is distributed as shareware.  It's not free, but it
costs nothing but your time to try it out.  So try it and make copies for your
friends.  If you decide to use WMF on a regular basis, please support the
program's author by sending in your $25 registration fee to Phil Osmon, P.O.
Box 81517, San Diego, CA 92138.  Details about a more powerful version of WMF,
not distributed as shareware, are found near the end of this file.

INTRODUCTION

     With WMF you can update the weekly closing prices and view the charts for
as many as 104 mutual funds.  After the first record in a data file is entered,
you never need to enter a date for the new closing price.  WMF automatically
inserts a date for the next week and positions the cursor so you can type in
the next week's price.  Then after this price is entered, you press a function
key to store this record in the appropriate data file.  Then WMF clears the
screen, brings up the most recent price history for the next fund on your list,
fills in the date, and positions the cursor for entry of the closing price.
With WMF's help you can rapidly update all the funds you're interested in and
do so more quickly than by using a modem and paying expensive access charges.
Updating dividend and capital gain payouts when they are announced is also fast
and easy.  A fund manager allows you to add funds to (or delete funds from) a
list. So funds appear in the sequence you find them in Barron's on Saturday or
in your newspaper.

     Viewing charts of your fund data files is even easier.  Simply start WMF
on a fund that you select from your list of funds.  WMF will display
full-screen plots of your data in the sequence that they appear in your list.
You just hit the space bar to move on to the chart of the next fund in your
list.  (Or press ESC at any time to return to the chart submenu.)  In these
charts your dividend and capital gain data are used to automatically adjust
closing prices on the fly before the chart is displayed on the screen.  (Or you
can select displays of the unadjusted closing prices just as you entered them.)
These payout-price-adjustments are essential if you want to see a true picture
of the total return performance of any given fund. On a mutual fund record
date, payouts of dividends and capital gains are made which cause the price of
the fund to drop precipitously.  Although the price has fallen, the holder of
the fund has received additional shares or a check for the value of these
shares.  To display a true total return, the preceding prices must be adjusted
(decreased) to reflect these payouts.  WMF does this automatically for you.
The prices preceding a payout are adjusted by the factor:
1-(payout/(price+payout)).

    By making these calculations on the fly, WMF doesn't waste disk space.
Only the essential data is stored.  To see these displays your IBM compatible
computer must be equipped with a Color Graphics Adapter (able to display 200 by
640 pixels).  Computers with CGA, EGA, and VGA boards have the capability to
display in this graphic mode.  Your monitor should also be able to display high
intensity characters.  (If not, then write the author for a special low
intensity version of the program.)

    Since many users have already collected mutual fund data in spreadsheets
and other programs, a limited import capability exists.  Text files of closing
prices and payouts can be read in initially and converted to the two random
files which WMF uses for each fund.  These random files are then used by WMF
in all updating and charting.  If you want to transfer data to another
program, WMF has an export feature and can create two text files of your data
with the fund name plus '.TCL' and '.TPO' extentions.

NAVIGATING YOUR WAY THROUGH THE PROGRAM

     You may want to have a printed copy of the quick guide to the WMF commands
given in the box below.  It'll help you to run things the first time.  However,
many users seem to need no crib sheet material at all.  The menus are easy to
use and they catch on right away.  So read through it once and decide if you
want to keep a reference nearby and print out this file if you do.  One quick
way to do this is by entering the command "COPY WMF.DOC LPT1" after the DOS
prompt.

╔═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║  ************************ WMF Quick Guide ********************************  ║
║  UPDATE:                                                                    ║
║    Menu selection 1. Displays data for the first fund in the MFLIST.  The   ║
║       Friday dates and closing prices for the last 17 weeks appear on the   ║
║       left hand side of the screen.  The record date and dividend and       ║
║       capital gains for the last 17 payouts are displayed on the right side.║
║    Selection 2 asks you to enter the name of the fund in the MFLIST that you║
║       want to update.                                                       ║
║    -- USE OF THE KEYBOARD WHILE UPDATING ---------------------------------- ║
║       Number, cursor control, and backspace keys have their normal function.║
║       ENTER key advances the cursor to the next item on the right.  No      ║
║            change of field when updating closing price.                     ║
║       TAB key moves the cursor to the previous item on the left.  Applies   ║
║            only when entering dividends and capital gains.                  ║
║       FUNCTION KEYS (a reminder always appears at the bottom of the screen) ║
║       F1 - Quit. Return to the update menu.                                 ║
║       F2 - Switch to updating payouts if you are entering closing prices.   ║
║            Switch to closing prices if you are entering payouts.            ║
║       F4 - Toggle in and out of auto mode.  When in auto advance mode, the  ║
║            cursor automatically advances to the proper position for a new   ║
║            record (one greater than the latest) after writing the current   ║
║            one.  Press F4 to turn it off (or on).  The 'AUTO advance' notice║
║            at the bottom of the screen will disappear.  You may want to turn║
║            this mode off when you're correcting previous entries.           ║
║       F5 - Delete the last record.  Back up your data files before you      ║
║            experiment.  There's no restore key!                             ║
║       F6 - Enter date.  Move to the first column to enter the date.         ║
║       F8 - Skip.  Clear the screen and display the data for the next fund.  ║
║       F9 - Write record (for either closes or payouts).  Add this record to ║
║            the data file, but don't move on to the next fund.  Use instead  ║
║            of F10 when you want to move over to the other side of the screen║
║            via F2 or when you want to enter several weeks of data at one    ║
║            time.                                                            ║
║       F10- Write record and move on to the next fund in the MFLIST.         ║

║  FUND MANAGER:                                                              ║
║    A fund name can include no more than eight characters.                   ║
║    Press ENTER to return to the fund manager submenu after adding to or     ║
║       deleting from your list of funds (MFLIST file).                       ║
║    Deleting a fund from the MFLIST file does not erase the random data      ║
║       files.  You may want to use them again later.  If you want to erase   ║
║       deleted files from your disk, do so from DOS.                         ║ ║    IMPORTANT!!!                                                             ║
║    IMPORTANT!                                                               ║
║       When adding to your MFLIST, you'll be asked whether or not you want   ║
║       blank random data files created.  If you are starting the data entry  ║
║       for a brand new fund, then press Y(es) and two random data files      ║
║       containing all zeroes are created.  Be sure to enter N(o) if you want ║
║       to start updating some old random data files that were previously     ║
║       deleted from your MFLIST.  IF you say Yes in this case, then these old║
║       records you want to start updating again will be overwritten with     ║
║       zeroes and the old data will be lost.                                 ║
║    The import function reads in text files in the following formats:        ║
║       C: Date(as YYMMDD) Space(s) Close-price.                              ║
║       P: Date(as YYMMDD) Space(s) Dividend(or zero) Space(s) Cap-gain(or    ║
║          zero).                                                             ║
║       B: Date(as YYMMDD) Space(s) Close-price Space(s) Dividend(or zero)    ║
║          Space(s) Cap-gain(or zero).  In this format the record date for all║
║          payouts when made is the same as the close date.  Use this format  ║
║          only if you've entered your payouts this way elsewhere.  Your      ║
║          payout data will be more valuable in the future if you have the    ║
║          exact record dates.  The C and P formats are the ones you'll       ║
║          normally use.                                                      ║
║       You must have already created random data files (the ones with the CL ║
║          and PO extentions) before you can import data from text files.     ║
║    The export function creates two text files identified by the fund name   ║
║      plus the extentions '.TCL' and '.TPO'.  Press ENTER to return to the   ║
║      fund manager submenu.                                                  ║
║    WMF is limited to 400 records.  If you try to import more than           ║
║       this, you'll only read in the first 400 and won't be able to update.  ║
║       Since the charts display 190+ records on the screen (nearly 4 years), ║
║       it's best to import about 200 records or less.                        ║
║  VIEW CHARTS                                                                ║
║     Press the space bar to advance to the next chart on your MFLIST.        ║
║     Press ESC (escape) to return to the view-chart submenu.                 ║
╚═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝

TIPS

  # Keep your WMF.COM, MFLIST, *.CL, *.PO files on the same directory and make
this directory your default directory before initiating WMF.  If WMF cannot
find the MFLIST file on the default directory it will create one with a 0 in
it.  You cannot go to the update and view-chart submenus when there are no
funds in your MFLIST.

  # Don't try to modify the MFLIST file with your word processor.  Always add
and delete funds from the fund manager submenu.  WMF needs new random '.CL' and
'.PO' data files before a new fund can be updated, charted, imported to, or
exported from.  You can't create these with your word processor.

 # While updating, WMF displays the last 17 records in your data files.  If
you want to correct any of the previous entries, you only have to move the
cursor to these records and correct the data.  Then press F9 or F10 to write
the revised record on the screen to the record file.  If you want to revise any
records earlier than those shown on the update screen, you'll have to EXPORT
the data to a text file, correct it with your word processor, and then IMPORT
this revised text file (using the appropriate C or P format).  So correct 'em
while you can see 'em.

  # Price adjustment for stocks that split.  If you use WMF to track the weekly
close of a stock that you hold and the stock splits, you'll have to add an
additional pseudo dividend to adjust for this split.  For example, if the stock
splits 3 for 2, you'll have a pseudo dividend of (1-2/3)*price (or price/3) on
the day that the stock splits.  (The price in this formula is the one before
the split.)  You must enter this additional dividend if you want your price-
adjusted chart to properly represent total return.

  # Remember when updating that the date to enter for dividends or capital
gains is the record date not the payment date.  When updating stock dividends
enter the X-dividend date.

  # If you are obtaining your dividend and capital gain information from
Barrons's, be advised that this publication sometimes misses payouts.  If you
own the fund, it's best to double check the payouts with those on your
statements.

  # If you import data from a spreadsheet, be sure that the text file you've
made is in the proper format and contains no extra carriage returns or blank
records. The number of decimal places in your data and the number of spaces can
vary, but blank records without a zero or extra carriage returns are a no-no.
If there are errors, correct the text file with your word processor before
importing.  The date must appear as YYMMDD, e.g., 870701.  You'll probably be
importing the closes and payouts from separate text files using the C and P
formats.

  # Users who can touch type the numerical keypad may want to use their
keyboard macro program (many choices are available) to assign WMF's function
keys to keys located near the pad.  For example, the F-10 key could be assigned
to the minus key or plus key on the pad.  Then you can use one hand to enter
and the other to follow prices in your newspaper.  Of course, when entering
payouts, you'll also  use your left hand to press the F-9 and F-2 keys.

  # No method presently exists for deleting the earlist records when the number
of records goes beyond 400 (that's almost 8 years!).  For now, you have to
EXPORT, delete with a word processor, and IMPORT.  An automatic delete feature
will be added to version 2 in the near future.

FUNDS INCLUDED IN THE INITIAL MFLIST

     DOW      Dow Jones Industrials with quarterly dividends.
     GNM      Fidelity Ginnie Mae Fund
     HIINCO   Fidelity High Income Fund (Junk Bonds)
     MAGELLAN Fidelity Magellan Fund
     PURITAN  Fidelity Puritan Fund (Balanced)
     OVERSEA  Fidelity Overseas Fund (Foreign Stocks)
     SELGLD   Fidelity Select American Gold
     SELERGY  Fidelity Select Energy
     SELTECH  Fideliy Select Technology
     VINDEX   Vanguard Index Trust (S&P 500 Stocks)
     IBM      IBM Stock

 VERSION 2.1 FEATURES

     Shareware version 1.1 provides all the features that most users will ever
desire in a mutual fund tracking program.  However, a  version of WMF is
available for those users seeking more features.  This advanced version is NOT
distributed as shareware.  It is available to registered users of version 1.1
for $15 (or $40 to register for both).  The features added so far include:

         * Fast ranking routine calculates the percent change in total return
           for all the funds in your MFLIST for the previous number of weeks
           that you select.  Results are sorted and displayed on the screen
           with the best performers appearing first.  A text file of these
           results is written if you select this option.   (It takes less than
           20 seconds to create a file ranking 60 funds on an 8088 machine!)
           This is a valuable tool for fund switchers and those who need
           information on relative performance of a number of funds.

         * Split screen chart of one fund above another shows a price-
           adjusted percent-change plot for each.  This is a useful way to
           compare two funds.

         * Display of a fund and its moving average.  Many trading systems use
           moving averages.

         * Change the data path to another directory.  This makes it easy to
           track several separate lists of funds.

         * Registered users of version 2 will also recieve a program, WMFYLD,
           which calculates the compounded annual return for funds with
           monthly dividend payments.  The annual return is based on the
           latest closing price and the latest dividend paid.  Results for
           these monthly funds are sorted from highest yield to lowest and
           are written to a text file if this option is selected.

REGISTRATION

     To register for userware version 1.1 send your name and address and $25
to:
         Philip Osmon
         P.O. Box 81517
         San Diego, CA 92138.

     To receive advanced version 2.1 (distributed only by mail or UPS) send
your name and address and $40 to the above address.

COMMENTS

     Please send all comments to the above address.  Other types of investment
software are under development and registered users will be kept up to date on
new offerings.  Your suggestions and ideas will be welcomed.

IMPORTANT NOTICE

     No warranty or guarantees are offered to any user of this program at any
time.  Investing can be hazardous to your financial health.  The information
presented by this program may be erroneous or misleading.  The user assumes
full responsibility for any damages suffered as a result of using this program.

Copyright (C) 1987 by Philip Osmon