Track stock or index options in the Portfolio
Manager
You can use any
investment account to track the value of stock or index options you
purchase. To track stock options granted to you by your employer,
use an employee stock option account.
- Go to the Portfolio Manager.
- In the left pane under Common tasks, point to
Work with investments, and then click Set
up a new investment.
You can add the option to an account you're already tracking in
Money, or create a new account for it.
- Complete the requested information. Here are tips for some of
the specific information you will enter:
- On the Add an investment, index, or ticker
symbol page, choose Add an investment,
and then type a unique, descriptive name for the option.
- Money needs the ticker symbol to update the price for the
option. If you don't know the ticker symbol, click Find
Symbol.
- On the Transaction details page, enter the
details of the purchase.
- Quantity. Enter the number of contracts, not
the number of shares. Each contract usually provides the right to
buy 100 shares.
- Activity. Select Buy to open
if you're buying the option, or select Sell to
open if you're writing the option. For more information,
see About buy or
sell to open.
- Price. Enter the price you paid for each
contract, not the strike price or the price of the underlying
security.
Notes
- If you acquire additional options for the same underlying stock
or index, use the steps above to add them as a new investment.
However, if the new options have the same strike price and
expiration date as the option you already hold, you can add them as
a new transaction for that option.
- To record the sale of the option, click the option, and then
enter the transaction just as you would for any other
investment.
- Go to the Portfolio Manager.
- Click the plus sign (+) next to name of the account where you
hold the option, and then click the option name.
- Click New.
- Enter the transaction information.
- In the Activity list, choose
Exercise.
- In the Contracts box, enter the number of
contracts you are exercising, not the number of shares covered by
the contracts.
- Click OK.
- On the Enter option exercise details page,
confirm the number of contracts you are exercising, and complete
any other missing information.
Notes
- If you provided the strike price when you entered the option,
Money will calculate the total cost of the exercise based on that
strike price and the number of contracts you exercise.
- If an option expires, enter an Expire
transaction to close out your position. Click the option name,
click New, and then enter the information. In the
Activity list, choose
Expire.
