1. A new feature called HedgeFinder, available from within the Account Status window, allows you to see a graphic analysis of your total portfolio, along with any index options that you might be currently using to hedge that portfolio. It is based on projecting the potential movements of an appropriately selected base index (selected using the Beta/Delta Base field in the Account Status window). Movements of the various assets in your portfolio are modeled against this index using beta numbers that come in the background database. In turn, any options in your portfolio are modeled to move according to their underlyings.

Soon, this feature will also be able to recommend an optimal hedge based on the user’s objectives and risk preferences. (Until then, the two buttons Find Hedge and Send Recommended Hedge to Matrix will remain grayed out.) Note that the shaded area seen surrounding the line in the graph represents a simulation of tracking error – representing the fact that the performance of your portfolio may deviate from the performance of the currently selected base index. Note that tracking error is not currently being calculated. We hope to be able to add this ability in the next release. Until then, the shading just serves to remind you that tracking error exists. See previous publications on how to select an appropriate base index and then, using the Portfolio Delta as displayed by the program, pick an appropriate quantity of an appropriate option to hedge your portfolio. Then use the new HedgeFinder feature to check your work and see if the hedge is a suitable one.

2. A new feature, called Profit Zone, is available in Price Charts that can help you see where the price of the underlying needs to go in order for your position to be profitable. If you have an existing position in a particular asset, just click the new button on the Price Chart and the program opens up a space on the right representing up to 3 months into the future that the program fills in with green to show where your position is profitable and red to indicate where your position would theoretically be at a loss. Separating the red and green zones is (are) the breakeven line(s). Also shown are expiration lines (marked with X1, X2, and so on) to indicate when the nearby, 2nd month, etc. options expire.

The idea for Profit Zone comes to us courtesy of Don Singletary in Georgia. Note that our new Profit Zone is similar to a popular feature in the Optionetics platform. However, in our implementation we felt it was important to maintain the integrity of the horizontal axis; that is, to keep it representing just one thing – time. This also makes it possible to see how your profit zone theoretically changes over time, which can be an important new insight for traders.

If you have the asset’s Matrix open while working with the Price Chart, Profit Zone pays attention to month header selections and the miniature Analyze buttons E, T, and B in selecting the position to be analyzed.

3. A new special character Ctrl-M can be used in the Matrix to automatically copy Market Prices into Original Prices for all the options in which there is an existing position. This is to prepare to do a Graphic Analysis that represents the performance of the position from this point forward (excluding unrealized gains/losses up to this point).

4. Pressing ‘P’ when you have a Matrix open has always invoked the function of looking up your existing positions in this asset (a function that is automatically done when you first open a Matrix). Pressing ‘P’ when you have an Expand window selected now invokes the underlying Matrix’s function of looking up existing positions.

5. After going into Account Info and changing the state of the Include Previously Realized Gains/Losses checkbox, when you close the Account Info window, any open Matrixes are automatically updated.

6. When the Portfolio Manager is processing open positions (such as when opening the Account Status) and one or more asset files are missing, the program now displays a list of the missing asset file(s) and offers to insert their symbols in the Quotes Display for you. After putting their symbols in the Quotes Display, it is easy to perform a batch update – which automatically creates the missing asset file(s) – and then you can try the operation again.

7. After using the new Archive feature to divide a T.Log – sending old transactions into a newly created account – and then using a super account to re-consolidate the two accounts for reporting purposes, there was a problem giving the super account the correct current value. This was caused by the fact that the Archive feature would automatically enter a first transaction in the current (not the old) account as a Deposit – to simulate the appropriate starting value of the current account. However, the super account was seeing this as an actual deposit of additional funds, resulting in the super account being over valued. To solve this, we created a new transaction type called “starting value” or “StV” as now seen in the drop-down list in the T.Log. The Archive feature now automatically creates a starting value record instead of a deposit record. And when the software computes the value of a super account it passes over any starting value records.

8. Also after using the new Archive feature, the program gives the newly created account a copy of the performance history of the original account up to the cut-off date. The original account retains a complete performance history.

9. When using a Super account, there is a new checkbox in the Account Info screen called “Sum the performance histories”. This was created because the performance history of a Super account needs to be handled differently when re-aggregating an archived account with its original account than when aggregating individual accounts. When re-aggregating an archived account with its original account you will want to have this box un-checked so the program doesn’t double up account values during the period of time covered by the archived account. When aggregating individual accounts you will want to have this box checked so the program sums the performance histories.

10. To make it easier to send a copy of an account’s files to someone else (e.g. to OptionVue tech support for a problem investigation), you can now press [Ctrl-Z] while the Account Info window is open to have the current account’s files zipped up for you. The resulting zip file is placed in the \Records subfolder. After that, it is easy to send the file as an e-mail attachment by looking up the file using Windows Explorer, right-clicking on it, and choosing Send to Mail Recipient.

11. The lime color used in certain lines in Graphic Analysis and in the Volatility Skew Graphs was too light for some purposes. We darkened it so that it would print better and display better on a projection screen.

12. If you change the constituent accounts of a super account, the program now deletes the account value history file of the super account. This causes the program to automatically re-construct the super account’s history by merging the histories of the constituent accounts.

13. In the Transaction Log, pressing Ctrl-N in the Recon Code field to automatically fill in the next available letter character now pays attention only to open positions when determining the next best letter character to use.

14. The Quotes Display now allows you to sort by three additional columns: Price Off Extreme, Time Off Extreme, and Time of Update. Just right click in a group header under one of these columns.

15. Volatility numbers in the Matrix are now displayed with 2 decimals of precision whenever the asset’s grand average IV is less than 5%.