Expand each question by clicking on the question or the '+' marker to see the answers. If you have a question that isn't listed here, please contact us.

Do you have strategies to get me started?

Yes, there are a number of very good strategies we offer users to either use “as-is” or to customize themselves. Users can view complete metrics for these strategies including total return, annualized return, turnover, alpha, Sharpe ratio, and more. The complete rules are available to view. No smoke and mirrors here.

What if I just want a list of good stock picks?

Sure. You can use an Autoinvestor strategy to automatically deliver a list of stocks to you that meet certain criteria. There are a number of standard public strategies you could use “out of the box” or customize your own. An alternative is to manually run a screener and get the same results.

What's the difference between a "screener" and a "strategy"?

Basically, a screener is a set of rules to find what stocks to buy or sell. It doesn‘t know anything about how often or how much to buy and sell. A strategy (also referred to as an “Autoinvestor strategy”) is pretty much the same as a screener but adds rules for how often and how much to buy and sell. By adding rules for how often and how much, we can run your strategies automatically and they can give you personalized buy sell recommendations including how many shares and at what price.

I'm relatively new to investing. Is this site for me?

Definitely! One way to start is simply pick one of our standard public trading strategies and you‘re set. Every day you will receive an email indicating which stocks to buy and sell based on the rules of that strategy. You‘ll also receive alternate picks that meet the criteria but are “runner-ups“. We strongly recommend you do some “due diligence” by investigating the stocks for yourself (you can look up most data right on the Stockworm site). Some of our beginning investors really appreciate the regimen this offers to jump right into trading.

I'm used to being hands on. Do I have to use the Autoinvestor?

No, many users just create screeners and trading signals and then manually run them to find stocks meeting specific criteria. While typical screeners simply screen for fundamental data, Stockworm screeners can also incorporate trading signals that use technical data to time trades. Additionally, while typical screeners simply return a list of stocks that meet certain criteria, Stockworm screeners can return sorted lists that return stocks in order from best to worst. This hands-on approach is what the Investor level subscription is geared towards.

What's a trading signal?

Trading signals are sets of rules to signal when to buy or sell a stock. Stockworm has number of built in trading signals that can be used as-is or customized.

What is the "Autoinvestor"?

Stockworm‘s Autoinvestor is an immensely powerful investing tool that automatically issues customized buy/sell/hold recommendations based upon the rules in a strategy of your choosing. You decide whether to follow these recommendations and execute the trades with your broker. You then update your Stockworm portfolio to let the Autoinvestor know what you did. The next trading day, new buy/sell recommendations or ‘no action necessary‘ will be sent to you via email. It‘s that simple. It takes much of the emotion out of your investment decisions. It works in the background reminding you to manage your investments as needed.

How can I find undervalued stocks?

Set up a screener using a rule that sorts by valuation from low to high. Then select the top stocks on that list. There are 5 valuation functions you can choose from. Unlike other sites, we don‘t use “proprietary“ valuation formulas. You can choose from Basic EBO (Edwards-Bell-Ohlson) dividend discount valuation model, levered EBO which is identical to the Basic EBO model but beta is adjusted for the debt level, Risk Proxy EBO which is the Basic EBO but in place of beta there is a parameter based on market cap, number of analysts covering a stock, and variation in earnings estimates to indicate the “risk”, PEG comparing the ratio of P/E to growth rate, and forward P/E based on the current P/E ratio.

I'm used to looking at charts to determine the right time to buy. Can your tools do this automatically?

Yes, typically someone used to technical analysis using charts will look at indicator lines and visually determine entry and exit points. Our trading signals can automate much of that by explicitly indicating when particular indicator lines meet certain conditions. Moreover, by using a trade signal in conjunction with a screener, one can search for all stocks that meet certain chart characteristics. Time consuming at best if done manually.

How much does it cost?

Your subscription starts with a 14 day free trial without risk or obligation. If you choose to continue your membership after this period, the monthly subscription fee is $44.50. Investment professionals are enrolled in a membership with expanded account allowances (more portfolios, more simulations, etc.) at a monthly rate of $400.00. Discounts are available for quarterly and annual sign-ups.

Does Stockworm execute the trades?

No, you will need to initiate the trades yourself through your broker.

How do I know if a strategy really works?

One of the huge benefits that strategies have over simple screeners is that they can be simulated. What does this mean? Simply put, you can get a list of exact buys and sells that your strategy‘s rules would have generated every day starting back over 10 years ago. Moreover, our tools automatically generate the total return, average gain, Sharpe ratio, and many other metrics for you. You can also download the list of transactions and do your own analysis too. Seeing how your strategy would have performed in the past, through bull and bear markets, can help you decide if it‘s a “good” strategy or not. But of course here‘s where we have to put in the disclaimers about past performance doesn‘t guarantee future returns and that all we offer is a service that selects stocks based on pre-defined rules. (per our lawyers)

Can I trust the simulations?

Yes. First we get our data from reputable sources (Zacks and Hemscott). Next, we run the strategy rules against the exact data that would have been available on each day of the simulation. This avoids most common sources of survivor or look-ahead bias.

Do simulations have "survivor" and/or "crystal ball" bias?

All major sources of look ahead bias such as survivorship or data unavailable have been eliminated in our system. We basically use the same data which was available on any past date to process the simulation on that date. That said, there are still some subtle issues which we are working on. As an example, stocks are currently assigned to an industry grouping based upon the latest reports from our data provider. There are cases when stocks move from one industry to another over time, so we are looking into creating an historical industry assignment. These exceptions are infrequent though and we have only seen minor effects on simulation results.

How far back does the data go?

Our technical and fundamental data go back over 13 years to 1/3/1994. Earnings estimates, valuation data (which depend upon earnings estimates), short ratios, and institutional ownership are covered over a shorter period, starting on 10/1/1999.

How many stocks do you cover?

We cover all the stocks listed on the NYSE, AMEX, NASDAQ, and OTCBB (excluding pink sheet stocks). There are currently over 9000 listed stocks. However, we have data on over 24,000 stocks in our database spanning 13 years.

How often are quotes and fundamentals updated?

All our data is updated nightly. Autoinvestor recommendations are sent early each morning before the markets open and after this data has been updated.

Do you track mutual funds?

No, we focus on the US equities markets and currently cover over 9000 listed stocks.

Can I download screener results to an Excel spreadsheet?

Yes, results from screens and simulations can be downloaded to a CSV file readable by Excel and other spreadsheet programs.

Can I do intra-day charting?

No, our charting is based upon the last trading day‘s data. It is however updated in the late afternoon when the markets close so charts made in the evening reflect that days prices.

Do you offer real time quotes?

No we don‘t offer real time quotes. All the current prices you see on our site are typically delayed 15–20 minutes.

Can I screen within a particular stock index? For example the DOW or S&P500?

Yes, this is a feature that other sites don‘t offer. You can create screens and strategies that filter for membership in particular indexes. The indexes we currently cover include the DOW Jones Industrials, Dow Jones Transportation, DOW Jones Utility, Fortune 500, S&P 500, S&P 1500, S&P Mid-cap, and S&P Small cap.

Can I look at fundamental data for a specific stock for a specific date in the past?

Yes. You can specify a particular date and a particular stock and all the fundamental and technical data available as of that date will be displayed. This is useful, for example, in determining outstanding shares in years past to get an idea of earnings per share growth related to a stock buy back.

I've used Stockworm in the past -- what has changed?

We have made significant upgrades to the site including:

• Improved Navigation - navigation tabs include menus and submenus for easy navigation.


• Improved Help - the 'help' link in the upper right hand corner contains context sensitive help for each page.


• More community involvement - 'share' links enable fast posting to forums and you can rapidly view other user's posted strategies, screeners, etc.


• Enhanced Portfolio Tracking - new portfolio transaction types plus automated split adjustments have enhanced our superb portfolio tracking.


• Universal screener - We have unified all screener types into a single 'universal' screener to make screening for stocks even easier!


• New autoinvestor strategy - The new 'standard' strategy allows for multiple open rule sets and allows you to specify how much weight each position will occupy within your portfolio.


• Custom expression sorting and filtering - custom filtering and sorting rules are now available for use within screeners and strategies.


• Common index support - you can now limit stocks to one or more of nine common indexes such as the Dow Jones Industrial Average.


• New subscription levels - we have updated the subscription plans so that you can more easily select a membership level which suits your needs.

I have other questions. How can I get in touch with you?

Check out the Tours sections for more info. Please contact us if you still have questions after reviewing the FAQ and Tours.