PortTrak - Buying a Security

Buying and Selling securities are both done with a "Long" position in a stock. The buy comes before the sell, with the stock residing in your portfolio until you sell it out. (Note: It is possible to sell a stock before you buy it. This is called a "Short" position and is dealt with under "Shorting Securities". If any of these terms are unfamiliar, you should read the articles located in The Fool's School to gain a basic familiarity with them.)

Your first step to buying a security within PortTrak is to push the Buy Security Button.

In the dialog box, you will see a place for you to enter the security ticker symbol. If you are buying more of a security that you already own, choose that ticker symbol. If you are buying a security that you do not already have in your portfolio, choose New Ticker. When you have completed the share and price information, you will be prompted to enter the new ticker symbol.

In the Number of Shares box, you should enter the number of shares that you are purchasing.

In the Price Per Share box, you should enter the price per share as a decimal. PortTrak will not recognize a fraction. This is the raw price per share, not counting commissions or other costs.

In the Commission box, you should enter the commission that you are being charged on the purchase. Include here any handling fees, brokerage fees, or any other costs.

Use the Calculate button to see the total amount of the purchase, as well as the Foolish Price Per Share (with all costs included).

Use the OK button to enter the purchase.

When you have done this, the cash for this transaction is automatically removed from the Cash line on your portfolio. The new shares will be entered into your portfolio. If this was a stock that you already owned, you will notice a new cost basis which factors in both the new purchase and previous transactions.

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