Working with Investment Lists in Morningstar Direct
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What should I know about using the Find Investments dialog box?
Morningstar Direct January 2020 7
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What should I know
about using the Find
Investments dialog box?
Creating a list for a single investment is as straightforward an exercise as you will find.
Most often, though, you will want to create a list for more than one investment. In the
next exercise, you will learn how to enter multiple ticker symbols at once when
searching for funds. Also, the following exercise features an introduction to the Find
Investments dialog box. Being able to nimbly use this interface is one key to mastering
Morningstar Direct, as you will find yourself encountering it over and over again in
the application. Generically speaking, the Find Investments dialog box asks you to take
the following actions each time you use it:
1. Identify the security universe (mutual funds, stocks, ETFs, etc.) where you want to look
for investments. A default selection is made based on your user preferences. You can
read more about setting preferences in the QuickStart Guide to Morningstar Direct.
Note: You can look for multiple investment types in a single search within the
Find Investments dialog box, but in most instances you can look for only one security type at a
time. For example, if you wanted to find investments with the words “large value” in their
name, you would first have to search among Open End Funds, then switch to Close End Funds.
2. Choose how you will look for investments: by name, ticker, or other identification code.
3. Enter the name, ticker symbol(s), etc. for which you want to search. You can use the
search field repeatedly while the dialog box is open; you do not need to close it and
re-open it to look for another name, ticker symbol, etc.
Note: When searching for investments by name, pay careful attention to the option buttons to
the right of the Find By field. Are you looking for an item’s name based on the text it Begins
with, or merely text that the investment’s name Contains?
4. From the search results, add the investments with which you want to work. If you
mistakenly add an item, it can be easily removed.
When looking for
investments by name in
the Find Investments
dialog box, be sure the
correct option button is
selected for your search.
As you find investments
in this dialog box, use
these buttons to add them
to or remove them from
whatever item (list, portfolio,
etc.) you are creating.