| Credits | ix |
| Preface | xiii |
Chapter 1. | Screening Investments | 1 |
1. | Screen Savings Rates | 2 |
2. | Screen Fixed-Income Investments | 7 |
3. | Screen Loan and Mortgage Rates | 11 |
4. | Fast and Free Stock Screening Tools | 17 |
5. | Build Industrial Strength-Stock Screens | 21 |
6. | Weed Out Results | 29 |
Chapter 2. | Hacking Excel for Financial Analysis | 32 |
7. | Download Data Using Excel Web Queries | 33 |
8. | Make Good and Bad Values Stand Out | 40 |
9. | Make Nested Functions Work in Excel | 43 |
10. | Prevent Growth Calculations from Blowing Up | 48 |
11. | Flexible Techniques for Referencing Data | 52 |
12. | Add Conditional Commentary | 59 |
13. | Create Financial Charts in Excel | 61 |
Chapter 3. | Collecting Financial Data | 68 |
| Introduction: Fathoming Financial Statements | 68 |
14. | Download Mutual Fund Data | 75 |
15. | Choose Your Favorite Flavor of Data | 79 |
16. | Obtain Price Quotes | 81 |
17. | Download Historical Price Files | 84 |
18. | Download Financial Statements | 86 |
19. | The Best Data for Free | 89 |
20. | The Best Data for a Fee | 91 |
21. | Download News | 92 |
22. | Locate the Competition | 96 |
23. | Obtain Averages for an Industry and the Competition | 99 |
24. | Create Alerts | 106 |
Chapter 4. | Analyzing Company Fundamentals | 111 |
| Introduction: Investing in Growth | 111 |
| Introduction: Insisting on Quality | 115 |
| Introduction: Buying Good Value | 115 |
25. | Calculate Percentage Change for Growth and Return | 116 |
26. | Calculate Compound Annual Rates of Growth | 117 |
27. | Calculate Price and Dividend Ratios | 122 |
28. | Calculate Additional Valuation Ratios | 130 |
29. | Calculate Financial Strength Ratios | 138 |
30. | Calculate Management Effectiveness Ratios | 144 |
31. | Calculate Turnover Ratios | 151 |
32. | Calculate Profitability Ratios | 157 |
33. | Compare Year-to-Year Results | 164 |
34. | Compare Several Competitors to Identify the Strongest Candidate | 170 |
35. | Measure Earnings Predictability in Excel | 174 |
36. | Use Rational Values to Buy and Sell Wisely | 180 |
37. | Are You Walking on the Wild Side? | 187 |
38. | Use Ready-Made Fundamental Analysis Applications | 198 |
39. | Spot Hanky Panky with Cash Flow Analysis | 203 |
40. | Use Online Analysis Tools | 208 |
41. | Find the Best Free Excel Tools for Fundamental Analysis | 215 |
42. | Find the Best Excel Tools for Fundamental Analysis for a Fee | 218 |
43. | Analyze Real Estate Investment Trusts | 219 |
44. | Bank on Banks | 224 |
45. | Steps to Building a Financial Analysis Template | 230 |
Chapter 5. | Technical Analysis | 235 |
| Introduction: A Short History of Technical Analysis | 236 |
| Introduction: Computers and Technical Analysis | 237 |
| Introduction: Technical Charts | 237 |
| Introduction: The Importance of Money Management | 238 |
46. | Use Line and Bar Charts | 240 |
47. | Light the Way with Candlestick Charts | 244 |
48. | Point and Figure Charts | 246 |
49. | Look for Patterns in Technical Charts | 250 |
50. | What's Volume Got to Do with It? | 256 |
51. | How to Use Indicators and Oscillators | 258 |
52. | Support and Resistance | 265 |
53. | The Best Tools for Technical Analysis | 267 |
Chapter 6. | Executing Trades | 270 |
54. | Pick the Right Type of Trade | 271 |
55. | Execute After-Hours Trades | 276 |
56. | Sell Fractional Shares | 279 |
57. | Build Your Own Mutual Funds | 280 |
58. | Buy Bonds Online | 282 |
Chapter 7. | Investing in Mutual Funds | 284 |
| Introduction: Mutual Funds Are Here to Stay | 285 |
| Introduction: It's Your Money | 286 |
| Introduction: Index Funds, Anyone? | 286 |
59. | Why Don't My Funds Perform as Well as Others? | 287 |
60. | Calculate the Damage of Mutual Fund Expenses | 292 |
61. | Analyze the Hidden Costs of Fund Turnover | 298 |
62. | The Taxman Cometh for Your Fund Returns | 302 |
63. | Evaluate Short-Term and Long-Term Returns | 307 |
64. | Manage Interest Rate Risk with Bond Fund Duration | 312 |
65. | Evaluate Mutual Funds | 316 |
66. | The Best Mutual Fund Screens for Free | 319 |
67. | The Best Mutual Fund Screens for a Fee | 323 |
68. | Beware of the Closet Index Fund | 326 |
69. | Spot Mutual Funds That Don't Play Fair | 331 |
70. | Know When to Fold 'Em | 335 |
71. | Comparison-Shop for Mutual Funds | 340 |
72. | Compare Mutual Funds Online | 344 |
Chapter 8. | Managing Your Portfolio | 347 |
| Introduction: What Is Portfolio Management? | 347 |
| Introduction: Tracking Results | 349 |
73. | Build an Online Portfolio | 351 |
74. | Asset Allocation: Less Risk on the Road to Returns | 354 |
75. | Keep Allocation in Line | 360 |
76. | The Best Portfolio Management Tools for Free | 363 |
77. | The Best Portfolio Management Tools for a Fee | 367 |
78. | Portfolio Management with Excel | 370 |
79. | Take the Sting Out of Portfolio Management | 373 |
80. | Use Bonds in a Portfolio | 380 |
81. | Calculate Investment Return Over Different Time Periods | 383 |
82. | Compare Your Return to a Benchmark | 386 |
83. | Forecast Future Returns | 391 |
84. | Compare Returns for Alternative Investments | 394 |
85. | Assess Portfolio Quality | 398 |
86. | Flag Fundamental Sell Signals | 402 |
Chapter 9. | Financial Planning | 405 |
87. | Choose the Right Type of Account | 406 |
88. | Choose an Online Broker | 410 |
89. | Pick the Best Broker for Your Trading Style | 415 |
90. | Save Up for Something Good | 419 |
91. | Up, Up, and Away: The Cost of College | 424 |
92. | Let Me Count the Ways to Save for College | 430 |
93. | A College Savings Plan in Every State | 433 |
94. | Balance Risk and Return for College Costs | 437 |
95. | When It's Time to Break the College Savings Piggy Bank | 443 |
96. | Save for Retirement While Still Enjoying Yourself | 446 |
97. | Juggle Multiple Objectives | 451 |
98. | Get Out of Debt Before Debt Takes It Out of You | 454 |
99. | Find a Financial Planner | 457 |
100. | Build a Ladder of Fixed-Income Investments | 463 |
| Index | 467 |