Introduction to One-Click Scorecard
 
 
Why aren't all the strategies appropriate for my stock?
You can use any strategy to evaluate any stock within One-Click Scorecard but the recommended strategy will be the strategy that best matches the type of stock you are analyzing.

That said, if you feel that you are more of a growth (or value) investor, you can stick with the strategy you feel best matches your own style of investing. This should help you to identify only those stocks which fit your personal investing style.

 
 
Did these experts actually consult on this feature or is this based on their books?
All of the expert strategists personally consulted with Quicken.com to share their step-by-step approach to stock analysis. The experts decided on the steps for the strategies and they developed the weighting system that determines whether a stock is given a "strong interest," "some interest" or "no interest" ranking.
 
 
I'd like to email this list of stocks to a friend (or to myself.) How can I do this?
If you'd like to send a copy of the current "strong interest" list of stocks for any particular strategy to your friends or to yourself, click on the link reading "Tell a Friend" at the upper right of your screen. Then just fill out the form by entering all the email addresses you would like us to send the list to and click on "Send" or "Preview this message."

If you'd like to send a Scorecard report on one particular stock, click on the link reading "Email this Page to Your Friends" at the upper right of your screen and follow the same procedure as above.

 
 
How did you choose the strategists for this feature?
First, we recognized that no one strategy is suitable for all investors. We looked at value investing, growth investing and other strategies that seemed to offer fresh insight in order to represent a number of different approaches to stock analysis.

Second, we chose investment approaches that were time-tested and credible. All of our expert strategists have tested their skills in both bull and bear markets and all rely on a thorough analysis of a company's business and a stock's current valuation.

Third, we chose strategies which could be easily explained and did not rely on hidden or "proprietary" calculations that you could never reproduce yourself. One-Click Scorecard is intended to help you save time by providing you with instant analysis and data but our expert's methods of analysis are not coming from a "black box." Our strategists have provided detailed explanations for each step of an evaluation to help you understand why a stock earns a "strong interest," "some interest," or "no interest" ranking.

 
 
The stock I researched got a "no interest" grade. How do I find the "strong" interest stocks?
At the top and bottom of the Scorecard report on the stock you are researching, there is a link which reads "View strong interest stocks." Click there to see a list of the current stocks meriting "strong interest" for the strategy you are interested in.
 
 
Why isn't a "strong interest" grade the same as a buy recommendation?
A "strong interest" grade simply confirms that a stock merits further research on your part but some aspects of a company's operations will still require your own analysis and judgement. If a stock receives a "strong interest" grade, the One-Click Scorecard report will give you some hints as to how to continue your research.
 
 
How is a growth approach different from a value approach?
Growth investors generally look for businesses with earnings growth above the market average. These companies typically reinvest profits back into the business and they rarely pay dividends. These stocks often have a price/earnings ratio that is above average because investors are willing to pay a premium for companies with above-average growth.

Value investors, on the other hand, don’t necessarily want to pay a premium for a stock when they can find shares in other companies at a bargain. Value investors do like to see sales and earnings growth but if a company is more mature and isn’t growing as fast as young start-ups, it may still be attractive to a value investor if it’s price is reasonable and if it pays a dividend. The reliable and steady payment of dividends can make up for some slower stock price appreciation for many value investors.

 
 
How are all the numbers calculated?
The calculations used in One-Click Scorecard are based on mathematical formulas recommended by our expert strategists. In most cases, our experts have stuck to commonly-used financial ratios (such as P/E or debt/equity) which you will find defined in Quicken.com's glossary. If you click on an underlined term shown under an area labeled "How this stock scores" the definition will appear on your screen. Underlined terms in the sections labeled "What to look for" will take you to other areas of Quicken.com that can help with further research.

In other cases, our strategists rely on calculations that are unique to their own investing style (such as Robert Hagstrom's "owner earnings" used in the Warren Buffet Way strategy.) You can get more details on these measurements by clicking the question mark icon next to any step listed on the One-Click Scorecard report page. Clicking here will take you to a detailed Explanation page which explains more about the calculations used.

 
 
How do I know which strategy is recommended for the stock I'm interested in?
One-Click Scorecard automatically uses the recommended strategy for the stock symbol you type in to the Symbol(s) box. This strategy will appear in the Strategy box at the top of the One-Click Scorecard report and it will have an asterisk next to its name, indicating that it is the recommended strategy.
 
 
I'd like to compare stocks. Can I evaluate more than one stock at the same time?
You can not see reports on two or more stocks at one time but you can evaluate multiple stocks using One-Click Scorecard.

Just enter all the symbols for the stocks you're interested in into the Symbol(s) box at the top of the screen and click Go. One-Click Scorecard will automatically evaluate the first symbol in the box and you'll be given a complete report on that stock. To switch to a report on another of the stocks you'd like to evaluate, select the appropriate symbol from the pull-down menu.

 
 
I'm not familiar with some of these calculations. How do I learn more about them?
There are two ways to learn more about the calculations used in One-Click Scorecard. If you have a question regarding a specific financial ratio, you can click on the term wherever you see it underlined. This will bring up a definition for the term from Quicken.com's glossary.

You can also click on the question mark icon next to each step in each strategy. Clicking here will take you to a detailed explanation page for that strategy where the calculations used (and the reasons for using them) are explained.

 
 
Are the strategists making the earnings projections and recommendations on these stocks?
None of our expert strategists systematically analyze all the stocks in the market or issue buy/hold/sell recommendations on these stocks. For the most up-to-date and comprehensive earnings projections, One-Click Scorecard uses analysts' consensus estimates.

The ultimate interest-level rankings for stocks are based on how a stock fares according to each step in a strategy. The weighting for each step were determined by the One-Click Scorecard experts.

 
 
How do I get reports on more than one stock?
Just enter all the symbols for the stocks you're interested in into the Symbol(s) box at the top of the screen and click Go. One-Click Scorecard will automatically evaluate the first symbol in the box and you'll be given a complete report on that stock. To switch to a report on another of the stocks you'd like to evaluate, select the appropriate symbol from the pull-down menu.

If you are starting from the "Strong Interest" stocks list, select those stocks on the list that you would like to see reports on by clicking in the white boxes to the left of the company names. Scroll down to the section labeled "For more information:" and click in the circle to the left of "One-Click Scorecard." When you click "Go," you will be shown a One-Click Scorecard report for the first symbol. Get reports on any of the other stocks by selecting the symbol from the appropriate pull-down menu.

 
 
If my stock gets a "no interest" grade, should I sell it?
Not necessarily. A "no interest" grade simply means that a stock has not passed enough steps or the most important steps in a strategy to warrant further research as a potential purchase at this time. Some stocks may generate a "no interest" grade simply because their prices are currently very high but if you bought shares a while ago at a lower price, you may still consider them worth holding.
 
 
Why is one strategy recommended over another?
The strategists featured in One-Click Scorecard are experts at finding very specific types of stocks. The NAIC's Established Growth strategy concentrates on larger growth companies with conservative balance sheets while the Motley Fool's Foolish 8 strategy seeks smaller, more aggressive growth companies; the Weiss Blue-Chip Value strategy looks for high-quality stocks selling at bargain prices and the Warren Buffett Way seeks stocks that are the perfect blend of both growth and value.

As a result, a fast-growing stock selling at a premium won't necessarily have its advantages recognized by a value-oriented strategy and a slower-growing but stable company will probably be dismissed immediately by someone primarily interested in growth. One-Click Scorecard determines the appropriate strategy for analyzing any stock by looking at the stock's index membership and its market capitalization.

Stocks with market capitalizations equal to or above $5 billion are considered large-cap stocks while stocks with market capitalizations below $5 billion are classified as small-cap stocks.

Stocks that are part of the Russell 3000 Growth Index have higher price-to-book ratios and higher forecasted growth rates. Stocks in this index are classified as growth stocks in One-Click Scorecard and they are matched with a growth-oriented strategy. Smaller growth companies and large growth companies with less than five years of operating history are assigned to the Motley Fool's Foolish 8 strategy. Large growth companies with longer operating histories are assigned to the to the NAIC's Established Growth strategy.

Stocks that are part of the Russell 3000 Value Index have lower price-to-book ratios and lower forecasted growth rates. Companies in this index are classified as value stocks in One-Click Scorecard and they are matched with the Weiss Blue-Chip Value strategy.

In addition, about 30% of the stocks in the Russell 3000 Index are considered to have a combination of growth and value characteristics. One-Click Scorecard recognizes these stocks by classifying them as "blend" stocks with growth and value traits and the strategy recommended for them takes both growth and value into consideration. This is Robert Hagstrom's The Warren Buffett Way strategy. Both large-cap and small-cap "blend" stocks default to this strategy.

 
 
What if I want to see how a stock fares using a strategy that's not recommended?
You can evaluate any stock using any strategy in One-Click Scorecard by selecting the strategy you are interested in from the pull-down menu in the "Choose an Investing Strategy" box at the top of the screen.
 
 
What is One-Click Scorecard and how can I use it?
One-Click Scorecard helps you evaluate individual stocks using strategies designed by some of the nation's top investment analysts and portfolio managers. Working exclusively with Quicken.com, these experts have synthesized decades of investment experience to develop short, step-by-step strategies that show you how any stock fares using their personalized tests.

For each stock you'd like to research, One-Click Scorecard will recommend an appropriate strategy to use, calculate all the necessary financial ratios using the latest data available and produce a report with a grade and tips on further research.

At the top of each Scorecard report, you'll see a recommended strategy for the stock being analyzed and a list of questions the strategy uses to analyze a company. Next to each question, you'll also see a symbol indicating how a stock fared when this question was specifically applied to its fundamental data. Based on these results, the stock will receive a grade of "strong interest," "some interest," or "no interest." These are not the same as "buy," "hold" and "sell" recommendations. Rather, they represent how much further research a stock actually merits.

Scroll down further and you'll get more detail on why a stock passed or failed any step of the strategy. For each question the strategy asks, we'll tell you how a stock's balance sheet, income statement, earnings projections or current stock price measure up to the gold standard our experts seek. And we'll show you graphs that back up the numbers.

We'll also give you some tips on how to proceed with your research. These tips vary according to each stock's individual results so they should help you save time and ultimately identify the very best candidates for your investment portfolio.