Copying Investments

[elliots]

Mark,

I'm trying to set up a "dummy" sub-portfolio within my "real" portfolio to use as a test bed. I created it and copied an existing real investment (I wanted all the pricing history so I wouldn't have to re-enter it). But when I go in to edit transactions in the copy, it also changes the "real" investment (surprising result). Now I'm afraid to delete the copy for fear of losing the original (I guess I could do a backup first). How do I get out of this?

I guess the way to do what I want is add a new investment in some security I'd never actually own and do a historical price retrieval to get my pricing. I guess I could create a whole new portfolio for testing, but then I'd have to keep switching back and forth.

Elliot

[Mark]

Hi Elliot,

If you copy an investment in the Portfolio Editor, you are making a 2nd instance of the same investment file. Any changes you make to a given investment file apply to that investment, no matter where it is located. A given investment can be instantiated in as many different sub-portfolios as you want.

I believe what you wanted is to create a new investment file (File / New Investment...). Alternatively, you could have made a copy of the investment file on the hard drive, and given it a different filename, and then opened (File / Open Investment(s)..." that separate file into the sub-portfolio.

At this point, you can close the one duplicate, and it will still exist in the first sub-portfolio.

[StarBright2011]

Wouldn't the mechanics of your second suggestion be.

1. In the dummy portfolio, click on the copied investment.
2. Click "File" --> "Save Investment As" --> give the investment a new name.
3. To be safe, close the copied investment
4. Open the Saved As investment from step #2 in the dummy portfolio.

I think that should work

[Mark]

Hi StarBright2011,

Thanks for the suggestion. That method may indeed be easier. Although, when you do your step #2 and you save the investment to a new filename, every currently opened instance of that investment is now saved to that new filename. So, step #4 would have to actually go open the "original" investment file, instead of the new one, so that you have 2 different investment files open.

To create an independent copy of an investment into another sub-portfolio, you can do this:

1. In the original sub-portfolio, right click on the investment and look at "Investment Properties... / Statistics" to note the current filename.

2. Click "File" --> "Save Investment As" --> give the investment a new name. You now have 2 copies of the same investment file on your hard drive, with the just assigned filename being the currently open one.

3. Open the investment noted from step #1 into the other sub-portfolio.

[Mark]

Hi StarBright2011,

I think it would probably be a good idea for Fund Manager to prompt the user when doing a "File / Save Investment As..." and the current investment is open more than once. The user could choose whether to rename all open investments to this new filename, or just the currently selected one. This would make it easier for this case.

[StarBright2011]

Mark,

I agree that would eliminate the possibility of doing major damage!