How do I manage securities?

Quicken prompts you to create a new security whenever you enter a transaction or download a transaction that contains a security not already included in your Security List. You can also manually add securities to the Security List (for example, to track securities you don't own in a Watch List).

From the Security List window you can also hide, edit, or delete securities.

To open the Security List, choose the Investing tab, then select Tools > Security List.

To set up a new security

1. Click New Security to add a new security.

2. Use the Add Security to Quicken dialogs to fill in the requested information. You may not see all the fields listed below, depending on the type of security you're adding and how much information Quicken can retrieve online based on the name or ticker symbol you enter.

The following fields may appear, depending on the security type.

• Ticker symbol and lookup Enter a ticker symbol if you plan to update your portfolio prices online or import price data from an ASCII file. Click Lookup if you would like Quicken to find the symbol for you (requires Internet access). (Optional)

• Name Enter the name of the security in the Name field.

• Type Specify a type of investment vehicle for this security. Quicken's standard security types are Stock, Mutual Fund, US Savings Bond, Bond, Emp. Stock Opt., ESPP, CD, Market Index, and Other.

• Currency In the Currency drop-down list, select a currency. This option only appears if you've enabled multiple currency support. Note: This option is only available when a security is unused. Once you have an existing security with shares added, you cannot change the currency.

• Asset class In the Asset Class drop-down list, select an asset class. If this security contains a mixture of asset classes (as with a mutual fund), click the Mixture radio button, then specify the mixture in the Asset Class Mixture dialog. (Optional) Click Download Asset Class Information to download the asset class of the security or fund (requires Internet access).

• Tax free Click Tax Free if this is a tax-free security. Some municipal bonds and other securities are tax-free. Consult your tax advisor.

• Use average cost This option is available for mutual funds only. Select it if you want to use average cost to track the cost basis of the mutual fund.

• Back load If this security is a mutual fund, check to see if it has a back load. If the answer is yes, enter the percentage on which the back load is based. This field is important if you want to accurately calculate capital gains. (Optional)

• Bond type, maturity date, call date These fields only appear if you set up this security as a bond. Edit as necessary.

• Matched with online security If Matched with Online Security is selected, you identified this security as being involved in a previous download of investment transactions. If you no longer want downloaded transactions with the same CUSIP number, ticker symbol, or name to affect this security, clear Matched with Online Security. To reestablish the connection, download transactions involving the security and select to match it again.

• Other info Click Other Info to do any of the following:

  • Change or delete the estimated income for a security.

  • Edit contact information connected with this security, such as your broker's name and phone number.

  • Add or change the security's associated investing goal.

  • Enter a security rating for this investment.

  • Add comments or additional information.

To edit an existing security

1. Click the name of the security you want to edit.

2. Click Edit Security Details.

3. Use the dialog to edit the security information. You may not see all the fields listed below, depending on the type of security you're editing.

The following fields may appear, depending on the security type.

• Ticker symbol and lookup Enter a ticker symbol if you plan to update your portfolio prices online or import price data from an ASCII file. Click Lookup if you would like Quicken to find the symbol for you (requires Internet access). (Optional)

• Name Enter the name of the security in the Name field.

• Type Specify a type of investment vehicle for this security. Quicken's standard security types are Stock, Mutual Fund, US Savings Bond, Bond, Emp. Stock Opt., ESPP, CD, Market Index, and Other.

• Currency In the Currency drop-down list, select a currency. This option only appears if you've enabled multiple currency support.

• Asset class In the Asset Class drop-down list, select an asset class. If this security contains a mixture of asset classes (as with a mutual fund), click the Mixture radio button, then specify the mixture in the Asset Class Mixture dialog. (Optional) Click Download Asset Class Information to download the asset class of the security or fund (requires Internet access).

• Tax free Click Tax Free if this is a tax-free security. Some municipal bonds and other securities are tax-free. Consult your tax advisor.

• Use average cost This option is available for mutual funds only. Select it if you want to use average cost to track the cost basis of the mutual fund.

• Back load If this security is a mutual fund, check to see if it has a back load. If the answer is yes, enter the percentage on which the back load is based. This field is important if you want to accurately calculate capital gains. (Optional)

• Bond type, maturity date, call date These fields only appear if you set up this security as a bond. Edit as necessary.

• Matched with online security If Matched with Online Security is selected, you identified this security as being involved in a previous download of investment transactions. If you no longer want downloaded transactions with the same CUSIP number, ticker symbol, or name to affect this security, clear Matched with Online Security. To reestablish the connection, download transactions involving the security and select to match it again.

• Other info Click Other Info to do any of the following:

  • Change or delete the estimated income for a security.

  • Edit contact information connected with this security, such as your broker's name and phone number.

  • Add or change the security's associated investing goal.

  • Enter a security rating for this investment.

  • Add comments or additional information.

To hide a security or view a hidden security

If you want to conceal a security from future use but keep the transactions that use the security, hide it. For record keeping and tax purposes, it's usually better to hide a security rather than deleting it from your file.

1. Select the security you want to hide. To do so, click anywhere on the security line, but not on the security name.

2. Select the Hide check box.

3. To view the security again, click Show hidden securities.

Note: You need to view hidden securities if you want to use them for certain operations, such as in reports and graphs. In general, the ability to include or exclude hidden securities locally depends on whether Quicken provides the option to customize the feature. If you're using a feature that can't be customized, you must go to the Security List and follow the steps above to include or exclude the hidden securities.

To reactivate a hidden security

If you've hidden a security but want to track it again (for example, if you sold it and later purchased more shares), you can reactivate your existing data instead of starting over.

1. If hidden securities are not displayed in the Security List, click Show hidden securities.

2. Select the security you want to reactivate. To do so, click anywhere on the security line, but not on the security name.

3. Clear the Hide check box. The security is no longer hidden.

To delete a security

Before you can delete a security, you must find and delete all transactions that use it.

If you want to hide a security from future use, you don't need to delete all the transactions that use it. For record keeping and tax purposes, it's usually best to hide a security instead of deleting it.

1. Select the security you want to delete. To do so, click anywhere on the security line, but not on the security name.

2. Click the Report button to list all transactions that use the security.

3. From the report, click Preferences and make sure QuickZoom to Investment Forms is not selected.

4. From the report, double-click a transaction to go to the transaction list that holds it, then delete the transaction.

5. Repeat step 4 until you've deleted all transactions that use the security.

6. Select the security in the Security List and choose Delete.

To track employee stock options

For information about tracking employee stock options, see Tracking employee stock options in Quicken.