Investment Account Tracking

Investment Account Tracking

Quicken Deluxe 2008

Perhaps you’ve had a brokerage account or a retirement fund as a benefit from an off-farm job, but haven’t used Quicken for any records associated with your investments. Maybe you have had some experience with mutual funds and decided now that you want to add individual stocks to your investment portfolio. If you are interested in monitoring and analyzing performance, you may not be satisfied with the quarterly or monthly reports you get. Quicken’s investment account features are capable of providing information that can be sorted and summarized in a variety of ways.

In these instructions, we will:[1]

Add investment categories to the category list
Set up a mutual fund account and record historical transactions
Set up a brokerage account and record transactions
529 Plans for college savings
Manually set up a standard brokerage account for cooperative stock
Enter historical data manually
Record transactions for patronage dividends in the form of cash transferred to the checking account and increased shares of stock
Record transactions in a 401(k) account we developed as part of paycheck tracking
Update 401(k) holdings
Set up an IRA account
Download asset classes
Download historical data

Note: Due to different Internet connections you may have a different progression of screens.

Additional instructions for setting up investment accounts are found in the online help manual. In Quicken, select Help, User Manuals. Select toView or print Getting Started with Quickenon the Web. (Acrobat Reader, a free download, is needed to read PDF files. If you do not have it, the URL to obtain the download is available on the bottom of the user manual screen.) For investing go to the section entitled, “Managing Your Investments”.

Add Investment Categories

An investment category list is available with Quicken to record income and expenses from investments. The default list of investment categories is shown in Table 1. and shows the assigned tax schedule. Realized and unrealized gains and accrued interest expense are not assigned to a specific tax schedule becausethey are used in a calculation with other variables. You may seek assistance from a broker or accountant to ensure accuracy in these assignments and calculations.

Table 1. Investment Categories
Category / Description / Tax / Tax Line Item
Income
_DivInc / Dividend / T / Schedule B:Dividend income
_DivIncTaxFree / Tax-Free Dividend / T / Schedule B:Div. income, non-taxable
_EmpStkOptInc / Employee Stock Option Inc / T / W-2:Salary or wages, self
_EmpStkOptIncSpouse / Employee Stock Option Inc for Spouse / T / W-2:Salary or wages, spouse
_ESPP Self Income / ESPP Self Income / T / W-2:Salary or wages, self
_ESPP Spouse Income / ESPP Spouse Income / T / W-2:Salary or wages, spouse
_IntInc / Investment Interest Income / T / Schedule B:Interest income
_IntIncTaxFree / Tax-Free Inv Interest Inc / T / Schedule B:Int. income, non-taxable
_LT CapGnDst / Long Term Cap Gain Dist / T / Schedule D:Div. income, cap gain distrib.
_MT CapGnDst / Mid Term Cap Gain Dist / T / Schedule D:Div. income, cap gain distrib.
_RlzdGain / Realized Gain/Loss
_ST CapGnDst / Short Term Cap Gain Dist / T / Schedule B:Dividend income
_UnrlzdGain / Unrealized Gain/Loss
Expense
_Accrued Int / Accrued Interest / T / Schedule B:Interest income
_IntExp / Investment Interest Expenses / T / Form 4952:Investment interest expense

To add the investment categories to the existing category list, click on

Tools

Category List

Click on the Add Categories button (top right).

Available Categories

Investment (scroll down to find it and click on it to select it)

Click to select individual categories in the list or the Mark All button at the bottom of the list.

Click on Add> (in the middle of the window)

The selected categories will appear in the Categories to Add window at the right.

Click on OK.

A new Investment selection appears on the left sidebar of the category list. By clicking on Investment, you will see only the investment categories. Investment category names are preceded by an underscore (for example, _Accrued Int).

Close the Category List window.

Setting up a Mutual Fund Account

Improvements in recent Quicken versions have emphasized the investment features. Quicken along with Internet access allows you to download current and historical prices. In this example, we will set up a mutual fund account for an index fund that is not an Individual Retirement Account (IRA).

Choose

Investing (main menu)

Investment Accounts

Add Account

This account is held at the following institution:

Vangaurd Group

Select the radio button next to NO as we will add this manually.

Note: For financial institutions that are connected online, you will need account/user id and a PIN or password. Contact your financial institution for information about online access to their account(s). Even if you set up an account manually you will be able to access downloads, later.

Select the radio button next to Single Mutual Fund.

Tell us about this account

Name this account: Growth Index

Is this a tax-deferred account? • NO

What is the statement date for this account?

Statement date: 1/4/08

Note: The dates used in this tutorial are for example. You may substitute a different date (prior or current) to enter.

Enter the Ticker and Name as VIGRX and Vanguard Growth Index Fund, respectively.

Note: If you are connected to the Internet, you can search for the ticker symbol by clicking on the Ticker Symbol Lookup button. You can select the investment type and enter part of the Security name. Select the ticker symbol, copy using control Ctrl+C, go back to Quicken and paste using Ctrl+V.

Thenext screen summarizes the information entered to this point and expresses the importance of entering historical data to have accurate and complete reports.

Click on Done and you are now taken to an account summary screen.

We want to record the cost basis for shares that we own so that capital gains (losses) are accurately calculated; click on the Transactions tab.

Click onCost Basisunder the Inv Amt column at the right.

Then click on the Enter Missing Transaction button.

From the Enter transaction: drop-down menu, choose Add-Shares Added so the cash balance in the account is not affected by the entry. Enter the following data:

Click Enter/Done.

In our example, dividends were distributed and reinvested (the same process would be used for reinvesting interest or capital gains distributions). Let’s enter an example of the reinvested dividends.

Click on Enter Costunder the Inv Amt column at the right.

Then click on the Enter Missing Transaction button.

From the Enter transaction: drop-down menu, choose Add-Shares Added so the cash balance in the account is not affected by the entry. Enter the following data:

Click Enter/Done.

You will be returned to the Enter Missing Transaction screen. We will continue to enter historical cost information.

As part of our historical entries example, dividends were distributed and reinvested (the same process would be used for reinvesting interest or capital gains distributions). Let’s enter an example of the reinvested dividends.

Click on Enter Missing Transaction.

Now at the Enter Transaction prompt, enter Reinvest – Income Reinvested and the following data:

Click Enter/Done.

In our example, dividends were distributed and reinvested, but the same process would be used for reinvesting interest or capital gains distributions.

Here are some additional transactions to enter for practicing the rest of the historical cost basis information. Watch the columns as they may not be in the same order as the screen for each action. Click on Enter Missing Transaction before each entry.

Action / Date
(Transaction and Acquired) / Number of Shares / Price per Share
(Calculated) / Investment or
Total Amount
Add-Shares Added / 2/16/06 / 20.6515 / 24.212 / 500.01
Add-Shares Added / 5/14/06 / 19.82640 / 25.2190 / 500.00
Reinvest-Income Reinvested / 6/15/06 / .84710 / 21.036477 / 17.82
Dividend
Add-Shares Added / 8/16/06 / 18.3820 / 27.2005 / 500.03
Reinvest-Income Reinvested / 12/14/06 / 1.87893 / 20.831005 / 39.14
Dividend
Add-Shares Added / 2/15/07 / 17.3981 / 28.7387 / 500.00
Reinvest-Income Reinvested / 3/12/07 / 0.89000 / 20.224719 / 18.00
Dividend
Add-Shares Added / 3/12/07 / 31.32187 / 15.9632 / 500.00

Finish Later

Once all transactions are entered, close the window by clicking on the X in the upper right corner. Click on theOverview tab. You can view the summary data in various ways by choosing another option for Show: (near the top left of the window), or by clicking on the Performance & Analysis tab, or reviewing the Transactions tab.

Note: The As of date affects the values.

Although entering all buy and sell transactions can be time consuming if you are making monthly purchases of a mutual fund, for example, accurate data provides the best information for decision-making. When you decide to sell or gift shares, you can identify the shares with the highest cost basis for sale (to minimize capital gains tax) and/or select the shares with the lowest cost basis for gifts to charity (to avoid paying capital gains tax on those shares). Also, at tax time, you can print a report for the accountant showing which shares were sold and the amount of gain or loss.

Setting up a Brokerage Account

Let’s say grandmother is anticipating an estate tax problem unless she starts reducing the size of her estate. She decides to give each of her grandchildren 100 shares of two stocks that she owns and you are one of the lucky beneficiaries. You open a brokerage account to hold the shares and to allow you to trade in the future. As the broker’s money market rates look attractive, you also plan to store savings in the account. Click on:

Investing (main menu)

Investing Accounts

Add Account

Quicken Account Setup

This account is held at the following institutions:

● BH Smith

● None of these. Use the following name:

BH Smith

What type of investment account would you like to add?

●Standard Brokerage

Name this account: Brokerage Account

Complete the following three screens as shown.

Select Don’t Connect to the Internet.

Check the summary screen for accuracy.

Done

As with the mutual fund, you must enter the cost basis information for the stock gifts to have accurate reports. Your basis will be the donor’s basis in the stocks. Let’s say grandmother paid $35 per share July 1, 2001 for the Merck stock and $45 per share on May 1, 2003 for the Wal Mart stock.

Select the Merck row. Under the Cost Basis column click on Enter, Enter Missing Transactions, and chose Add-Shares Added since no cash from the account was used to purchase the stock.

Click on Enter/Done.

Note: Until cost basis data are entered, share holdings are recorded as a placeholder entry using the date entered for the statement. The transaction date needs to precede the placeholder date to replace a placeholder and not affect the total shares held. The placeholder share count will be reduced as historical transactions are entered.

Done

Repeat the process to record the Wal Mart stock cost basis.

Now that you are a stockowner, you decide to do some investing of your own. You love chocolate and decide that your first stock purchase is going to be investing in a chocolate company, for example Hershey’s. You researched the company, personal liking to chocolate aside, and decide it is a good company with solid income and/or growth potential plus experienced and competent administrators. Choose:Transactions tab.

Enter Transactions

Buy-Shares Bought

Complete the screen as follows:

You may be taken to the Add Security to Quicken as you enter a new security name or click on Enter/Done after completing the above screen and you will be prompted:

Note: If you are connected to the Internet, Quicken will search for the security information and complete it for you. Otherwise, you may be taken through a series of screens to enter the security information manually.

Done

Close the window by clicking on the X in the upper right corner.

Entry of most transactions is straightforward. Let’s say that Halloween candy sales were terrific. As a result, your Hershey stock paid a dividend on December 1 of $4.23 and the cash is going to be reinvested in stock. Click on Enter Transactions at the top left of the window, choose Reinvest-Income Reinvested and enter:

Enter/New

At Christmas, the company decides to give its shareholders a Christmas present in the form of a 2-for-1 stock split. To record a stock split, go to Enter transaction: field and choose Stock Split. Enter the following:

Note: When entering a stock split, enter the ratio of the stock split. In the example above, the split was 2 new stock shares to 1 old share, (2:1).

Click on Enter/New

Next April you want to sell 20 shares of your Hershey stock to generate some cash to help pay taxes. The stock price is now $48.23 per share. Go to the Enter transaction: field and choose Sell-Shares Sold.

DON’Tclick on Enter yet!

To select specific shares to be sold, click on Specify Lots in the center column.

Since we want to minimize the amount of gain and thus potential taxes on the sale, we will click on the Minimum Gainbutton. The shares purchased through the dividend reinvestment are selected along with the balance needed from the original purchase:

Notice the Shares to sell column has been filled in. Click on OK, and thenEnter/Done.

529 Plans for College Savings

A 529 Plan account functions very similarly to a standard brokerage account. However, the advantage to using the 529 Plan from the Investing accounts is that it is already marked at tax-deferred and it maintains the college investments separate from other retirement accounts. (Investing, Investing Accounts, Add Account, Enter 529 Plan name, Select 529 Plan.)

From this point on the entry is the same as a brokerage account.

Setting up a Brokerage Account to Track Co-op Stock

You have been a good customer of the local cooperative and your reward comes in the form of a patronage dividend plus an increase in shares owned. It is easy to record the dividend as a deposit in the checking account, but what if you want to track the shares of co-op stock and dividends as you might with other investments? To track the shares of co-op stock owned, set up an investment account. Choose:

Investing

Investing Accounts

Add Account

Select:

●None of these. Use the following name:

Hometown Co-op

What type of investment account would you like to add?

●Standard Brokerage

Name this account: Co-op Stock

Enter your current holdings information.

Total SharesStock

126 ●

A summary screen appears.

Done

Click on the Transactionstab. Now you choose how much historical data you want to enter about your co-op stock. Quicken recommends that you enter each stock transaction starting with your original purchase/acquisition so that it will develop accurate reports or gains. Click on Enter Cost to record your original stock acquisition.

Click on Enter Missing Transaction. Add-Shares Added to establish the beginning balance means no cash from this account is involved in the transaction. Choose the following to enter the original stock received in December 2005.

Enter/Done

Done

Recording Patronage Dividend

Let’s say that you receive a cash patronage dividend from the profits from the last calendar
year, which you deposit in the Checking account at the 1st National Bank. Select Inc-Income in Enter transaction. This is for cash income (dividend, interest, etc.) that is not reinvested.

The Checking account will show the $20 deposit. The cash balance of the Co-op Stock account will not be affected.

Enter/New

If you also receive additional shares of stock when the co-op earns a profit, you can add to the share balance by clicking on Enter Transactions, thenDiv-Stock Dividend.

Enter/Done

Setting up a 401(k) Account

Now, we will shift gears to demonstrate setting up a retirement account. If you have previously set up an account, skip ahead to the Update Holdings section. If you have not created a Retirement account while using the Setup Paycheck feature, then click on:

Investing

Investing Accounts

Add Account

Quicken Account Setup

● This account is held at the following institution:

In Vested

● None of these. Use the following name:

In Vested

Choose 401(k) or 403(b)

Name this account: Retirement 403(b)

Would you like to track loans against this account? ● No

Because our Ticker symbols are made up and not recognized, we get a report that Quicken did not recognize these securities. Choose Don't Connect to the Internet (or Add Manually) to input the information for this account.

Done