There are several ways to do research on Scottrade Mobile.

Market Research

1. Click the Markets & News link. You will see the daily charts for the DJIA, S&P 500, NASD and NYSE.

2. To do additional research, click the Overview drop-down menu and choose from Market Statistics, News & Commentary, Analyst Views and Market Events. View Graphic
 

Stock Research

1. From the Main Menu, Click Stocks. You will see a summary of your recent stock research. Just below your recent research, you can click the Stock Screener to search for stocks that fit particular criteria. View Graphic
 

2. Choose the criteria you would like to use to screen stocks from the Select Main Criteria field and click GO. View Graphic

3. Continue narrowing your selections on the following screens. Once you have made your choices, click GO. Each time you select additional criteria, your search becomes more specific. Choose from the drop-down menus to specify exactly which criteria you would like to select. View Graphic

4. Once your selections are complete, click GO to view your results. You'll see the number of results at the top. If you have a broad search producing many stocks, results will be shown in sets of five and grouped 25 at a time. View Graphic

5. Click on a stock symbol to see detailed quotes and research on the company you have selected. For more information on navigating the quote page of a particular stock, please see the Quotes section.

ETF Research

1. From the Main Menu, click Exchange-Traded Funds. You will see information about the five ETFs you have most recently researched. Below that, you will see links for ETF News & Commentary, All ETFs and the ETF Screener. View Graphic

2. If you choose ETF News & Commentary, you'll be able to see top headlines. Click a headline to read the full text of the article. View Graphic
 

You'll notice that your three ETF menu choices - ETF News & Commentary, All ETFs and the ETF Screener - remain at the bottom of every page in the ETF section of Scottrade Mobile.

3. Choosing All ETFs will allow you to view all ETFs with a particular fund classification or fund family. Click on the two drop-down menus at the top to narrow the field of ETFs you are viewing. View Graphic
 

Scroll down to see ETFs that match your parameters. Click on the symbol of any ETF to see detailed quotes and information. Also, remember that you can access ETF News & Commentary and the ETF Screener from the bottom of the page.

4. Clicking the ETF screener will produce a screener very similar to the stock screener. Begin making your selections and click GO. View Graphic
 

5. Continue narrowing your selections on the following screens. Once you have made your choices, click GO. Each time you select additional criteria, your search becomes more specific. Choose from the drop-down menus to specify exactly which criteria you would like to select. View Graphic
 

6. Once your selections are complete, click GO to view your results. You'll see the number of results at the top. If you have a broad search producing many stocks, results will be shown in sets of five and grouped 25 at a time. View Graphic

7. Click on an ETF symbol to see detailed quotes and research on the ETF you have selected. For more information on navigating the quote page of a particular stock or ETF, please see the Quotes section.

Any specific securities, types of securities, or research tools shown are for demonstrative purposes only. Investors should not construe such information as investment advice.

Investors should consider the investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses of an Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) carefully before investing. A prospectus contains this and other information about the ETF and can be obtained from the issuer. The prospectus should be read carefully before investing.

 -- Update --

http://community.scottrade.com/index.php?page_id=4&cat_id=27&thread_id=1&post_type=5&plmt=  

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Hi everyone.  Thanks for your patience regarding my updates on the new mobile site. The development staff and I have been working diligently the last few weeks making sure the new mobile site is the best it can possibly be.  I have been all over St. Louis making trades and researching the markets on my mobile phone.  Last week, I was at lunch having a conversation about the market tanking, and I was able to pull out my phone and provide an up-to-date market quote as well as what reason was given for the day’s poor performance.  That was pretty cool.  I feel like I don’t even need my computer anymore!  That might not be entirely true – but we are getting closer to launching the new mobile site so that you too can take Scottrade with you anywhere.

Keep an eye out for a special announcement just for the community members!  Trust me – there are special perks of being in the community!

Hi Everyone,

 I've seen a couple of threads out there asking what is available for mobile trading, what phones are best to use and what is all available.  Hopefully this thread will provide those answers and a lot more. 

 First, a quick update on the mobile site.  We are currently in the testing phase for the new site so we are coming close to implementation.  I will update this post when we release the site to the public.  Please note; after launch it will be a beta site.  So, it will run parallel with our current mobile site, http://mobile.scottrade.com. 

The new site will be much more powerful than the old site.  You will have tons of information at your fingertips.  The SmartText feature that is part of our website will be included.

Now for the fun stuff!

I want your help in deciding what phones we need to support in the future (right now we have tested the iPhone, multiple palms, blackberry's and smart phones).  It works on all, but I have to say it looks the best on the iPhone and Palms.  We are making a few tweaks so that it will look equally good out there for the smartphones and BB's. 

So, tell us where we should focus our efforts. 

What phones are you using?

What features would you like to see in a mobile site?

To read more on this discussion and what others have posted visit the thread:

http://community.scottrade.com/index.php?page_id=4&cat_id=7&thread_id=456&post_type=5&group_id=7

For many of you long term investors reviewing your portfolio could be a stomach turning experience this year.  However, now might be a good time to take a look at your portfolio to get a preview of your long and/or short term gains for 2008 before the last trading day of the year (Wednesday December 31st).

To get a quick aggregate overview of your long and short term gains for the year activate the Gainskeeper application within the My Account tab on the web site.  Once within Gainskeeper, change the dropdowns to Realized Sell Activity and to Year 2008 and click view.

Hello Everyone.  I am continuing my fact finding mission this morning.  I have opened up a group discussion HERE, asking you to tell us what you would love to see on the website. 

Have a great day.

TraderZ

Are you guys using an old 386?  486?  Tandy?   The Web Team would love to know what kind of PC you do your work from.  Here at Scottrade we always make the best effort to ensure that our products work on a variety of different computers and browsers.  The purpose of this blog is to put our assumptions and research aside and ask our client base to let us know what makes your computer click. 

I will start by posting the basics of my machine. 

Trader Z's Rig

Windows Vista Premium

Intel Core 2 Duo.

4GB RAM

2 - 300GB VelociRaptor hard drives set in a RAID0 environment.

GeForce 8600 video card

Internet Explorer doesn't see the light of day.  I am a Firefox guy.

My PC is a work in progress. I am a gamer and I am always tweaking my system or adding new hardware.  

Now, it's your turn!  Show us what you've got!

This week I thought I would point out our rules and some basic examples regarding Unsettled Funds and Trading in your cash accounts.

Interpretations of Regulation T, which govern how trades are paid for, state that funds from liquidations in cash accounts will not be available to pay for purchases until the settlement date of the sell.  

 Credit balances in a cash account may be used for purchases:

·         If the account has settled funds, there are no restrictions as to what may be purchased.

·         If the credit balance is a result of an unsettled sale of securities, certain restrictions may apply.

·         Unsettled proceeds from existing long positions can be used to purchase additional securities as long as the new purchase is not sold prior to the settlement date of the original sale that generated the proceeds used to finance the purchase.

·         If it is sold prior to the settlement date of the funding sale without additional funds being deposited, it will be considered a free ride under Federal Reserve Regulation T.

 For example, if you sell a security on Monday the 1st, you can use the proceeds to make a purchase prior to the settlement date of Thursday the 4th.  However, if you make a purchase before Thursday the 4th then sell that new position before the settlement of Monday's sale, you will then be required to deposit funds to pay for the purchase. If you purchase on Thursday the 4th, you may place a sell at anytime you wish, since the purchase was made with settled funds.

 Mutual Funds and Fixed Income Securities can only be purchased with existing or settled funds.

 Examples:

1.      Monday 5/1/XX: sell 1000 (ABC) stock for $10,000.00 � Sell has a settlement date of 5/4/XX. You make a purchase of 1000 (XYZ) for $10,000.00 on 5/4/XX, using the settled proceeds from the sale of 1000 (ABC) shares from 5/1/XX.  Since the 5/1/XX funds have settled, you are free to use those funds to make purchases of stocks on 5/4/XX, and sell those stocks at anytime without having to bring in any additional cash to pay for the purchases.
 

2.       You sell 1000 (ABC) stock on Monday 5/1/XX for $10,000.00 � sell has a settlement date of 5/4/XX.  You then buy 1000 (XYZ) for $10,000.00 on Tuesday 5/2/XX.  Since you have used the proceeds from a sale that has not settled yet, to make a purchase, you cannot sell the 1000 (XYZ) stock until 5/4/XX.  If you sell the securities that were purchased with unsettled proceeds, on 5/2/XX, before the proceeds settled, then you must bring in additional funds to cover the $10,000.00 purchase.  If you do not bring in additional funds, then you will be charged with a free ride.
 

3.      You have 10 (ABC) call options long in your account.  You sell the options on Monday 5/1/XX, generating $300.00 in proceeds.  You then use the proceeds to buy $300.00 worth of (XYZ) stock, also on 5/1/XX.  If you hold those shares of (XYZ) stock until the options sale proceeds settle, on 5/2/XX, then you may sell those shares at any time you want without bringing in any additional money to pay for the purchase.  If you sell the (XYZ) stock the same day that you bought the stock, the option sale would not have settled yet, and you would have to bring in an additional $300.00 to pay for the purchase of the (XYZ) stock.
 

4.      You begin the day with a cash position of $10,000 on Monday 05/01/XX.  The first thing you do is a buy of 1000 (ABC) stocks for $10,000 Then you sell those securities on the same day generating $10,100.00, which settles on 05/04/XX, and use the money to buy 1100 (XYZ) shares for $10,100.00, again on 05/01/XX.  If you hold the 1100 (XYZ) shares until Thursday 05/04/XX, you can then sell those 1100 (XYZ) shares whenever you want without having to bring in any additional funds.  If you sell those 1100 (XYZ) shares before Thursday 05/04/XX, then the 05/01/XX sell of 1000 (ABC) would not have settled yet and you could not use those proceeds to pay for the 05/01/XX purchase of 1100 (XYZ) shares.  In this case you would need to bring in additional money to pay for that purchase.   
 

5.      You begin the day selling $5,000 of a Mutual Fund (ABCDX) on 05/01/XX. This Fund has a settlement date of 05/04/XX.    You wish to purchase $5,000 of DEFGX on 05/01/XX using the ABCDX proceeds.  This Mutual Fund could not be purchased until 05/04/XX because the ABCDX has not settled.

 There are other scenarios that may apply to your trading.  Regardless of the security and your trading patterns, please keep in mind to avoid any restrictions on your account, you can only purchase with settled funds.

 Non-retirement accounts have two basic choices.  Your first option is to provide sufficient cash in the account to support the desired level of trading.  Your second option is to sign a margin agreement, which will allow you to trade without the 3 business day hold on sales proceeds.  

 A consideration with the option of signing a margin agreement would be the requirement by industry regulations, that if you do 4 roundtrips (A buy and a sell on the same day) in a five-day period, you will be considered a pattern day trader and will be required to maintain $25,000 minimum equity in the account.  There could also be interest charges that would apply on any debit balances past settlement date.

Remeber, when in doubt never hesitate to call your local representative regarding this or any other questions you may have.  I hope this is helpful and have a great weekend.

Trader Z

Did you know that you can export any watch lists you create on www.scottrade.com? When you are on the Watch Lists and Portfolios pages at scottrade.com there is a drop down menu in the upper right hand corner of the page. Within this menu you have 2 options for exporting: Comma Delimited and Money/Quicken.

Exporting the list in the Comma Delimited (CSV) format is perfect if you wish to move your list(s) into an Excel spreadsheet. If you select the Money/Quicken export option the data in your lists will be exported in file format suitable for the MS Money and Quicken software.

The process is very easy. When you select the list and the format you wish to export, a window will pop up with each view available to export. We have added all of the views to the download window so you do not have to navigate to the page before you export. All you (the user) have to do is navigate to the appropriate list, select the desired export option and then select the view you wish to export. Follow the on screen prompts and the new file will be saved locally on your computer. Once the file is saved you can open it in the appropriate program for your own purposes.

If you would like to learn more about the available views please visit last week’s blog on this topic. Watch Lists and Portfolios

How many of you utilize the Watch Lists and Portfolios pages located on www.scottrade.com? Even though this information is not “streaming” like ScottradeELITE or Scottrader these pages offer a quick and accurate view of the symbols you are currently tracking in your account. There are 2 ways you can access this portion of our website. First, a basic view (more detail on this further down) watch list is located on the Home page of your account, visible when you first login. The other way to access your Watch Lists is through the My Account Tab and the Watch Lists & Portfolios link in the left navigation. From this page a “View” drop down menu will be visible allowing you to select each of the different views I will touch on.

When you navigate to this page the Basic view is shown to you by default. The Basic view offers you the essential information about the securities you are tracking. This information includes: bid prices, ask prices, Current Price, $ change for the day, % change for the day, the previous close, today’s open and the current volume. From this view you also have the option to set alerts and trade any of the securities in your list.

The next view available from the drop down menu is the Detailed view. This view contains all the information the Basic view does but goes a step further and gives you the ability to see the bid/ask sizes, exchange information, daily highs and lows as well as 52 week highs and lows. From this view you also have the option to set alerts and trade any of the securities in your list.

The third view we will visit is the Portfolio view. The portfolio view, while not designed to be a full blown cost basis tool, offers you the ability to enter basic cost basis information such as the number of shares you own, the price you paid, when you purchased the shares and the commission(s) you were charged. You will have to enter this information manually and once you do that you will be able to see how the positions in your watch list are doing for that day. There is also and option to Close your position. When you close an item from you portfolio list, the information about that security is then moved to the History section of the portfolio page. You can view historical position information at any time by clicking the purple “View History” button located at the top of your watch list. Keep in mind that if do hold shares of the security in your account, this will not sell all of those shares. Like the basic view you also have the ability to manage alerts, trade from this page. Another great aspect of this page is that you do not have to own any of the securities you enter here. All the information in this list is modifiable by the user so you can use this tool to track hypothetical trades.

The fourth and final view is the Exchange view. The exchange view offers parts of the basic and detailed view combined. In addition to the Composite quote information you also have the ability to view quotes from the regional exchanges. By utilizing this view you can really see the full story behind a stock quote.

As it is with any symbol on our website, all of the symbols contained in your Watch Lists will direct you to detailed research on our Quotes and Research pages when you click or hover over them with you mouse. I would also like to point out that there is a great tutorial available that will walk you through the process of creating and editing you watch list(s). The link to the tutorial is available in the upper right hand corner of the Watch Lists & Portfolios pages. One final note about these lists and I mentioned it earlier, these pages do not “stream”. The data is real time, but only for that instant after the page loads. The page is refreshable which will allow you to update the current pricing information.

I hope this information will be helpful to all of you and perhaps I have opened the door for you to utilize a tool you never knew you had available.

Many of you are familiar with the trading acronym GTC which stands for “Good until Cancelled.” A GTC qualifier is placed on limit or stop orders when you want your order to remain open until it executes or until you decide to cancel the order.

The idea sounds simple enough but most brokerage firms do not keep GTC orders open indefinitely. The Scottrade policy is to cancel a GTC order on the last business day of the month following the day in which you placed or modified a GTC order.  For example, if you place a GTC order on August 1 and it does not execute Scottrade will automatically cancel the order on the last business day of September.

What about GTDs?  GTD stands for “Good till date”.  This qualifier offers you even greater flexibility over the expiration date of your order.  You can place a GTD order out to 90 days and even specify to the half an hour in which you would like the order to be cancelled (in the event that it doesn’t fill first).  GTD orders are only available for days in which the market is in session( no weekends or market holidays).