Option Symbol Entry

[AIM]

Hi Mark,
For Options, entering the Yahoo symbols individually, especially across multiple accounts, can be really tedious. After importing option trades for multiple accounts, each instance of that option has to have the symbol entered manually.Could you look at a way where the symbol could be entered once and be applied to all instances of that option?
Thank you.

[Mark]

Hi AIM,

This capability already exists in the Advisor version. I believe that is what you are using. Just go to "Edit / Symbol List..." and you can edit investment properties by symbol. All investments with the selected symbol are updated at once.

[AIM]

I wasn't aware of that feature, that looks really useful for splits and for updating the internet retrieve setting for options.
However that list appears to key off symbol. The question is if the same option is bought across 5 accounts, and I enter the option symbol in one account can that Symbol list feature be used to apply the Option Symbol to the other instances of that option (which don't have a symbol yet)?

Thanks.

[Mark]

Hi AIM,

That dialog can be used to change the symbol, or set the properties of any investment with a given symbol. When you create your option investments, do they have some symbol initially, or are they empty? How are you creating the option investments? Are you importing transactions from some source to create them?

Hopefully however you are creating the options, they come in with some unique symbol, so that you can just change it globally under "Edit / Symbol List...". If they are coming in blank somehow, and you have more than one type of option with a blank symbol then you wouldn't be able to utilize this. As you mentioned, it does key off of symbol, and not name. If you do have only one option, and they all have a blank symbol, you can change "blank" to the desired option. This would only work though if nothing else has a blank symbol.

[AIM]

Hi Mark,
I'm finding Option Symbol entry to be really time consuming. As I've been doing more weekly option spreads across accounts, it could easily be 60 -100 option symbol entries a week.

The transactions are being imported from Apex through Optionshouse (Apex clears for Optionshouse) in .QFX files and come in with a name and cusip but blank symbol. I need to enter the Yahoo symbol in order to retrieve the pricing. The Edit Symbol List only allows updating of each respective field chosen. It could be so much more useful if it would allow updating of another field. For example, for any instrument with Name "x" or Cusip "X" update Symbol field. This could turn 100 manual symbol entries into 6 symbol entries.

Please consider adding this functionality. That would be a feature I'd look forward to upgrading to.
Thanks.

[Mark]

Hi AIM,

Thanks for the feedback. I understand, and we'll see about adding something to help here.