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Globe Portfolio Help

Frequently Asked Questions

Stocks

I own shares of Magna International. How do I record the MI Developments spin-off in my portfolio?

To reflect this spin-off in Globe Portfolio and preserve your original cost base (for MG.A-T):

After the spin-off, the cost base of your Magna shares should drop to 88.076%* of your original cost base. The cost of the MI Developments shares should be 11.924%* of the original cost base of the Magna shares.

For a user who owned 100 shares of MG.A-T on August 26, 2003 at an average cost of $100 (total cost of $10,000), the cost allocated to Magna and MI Developments should be:

$10,000 x .88076 = $8,807.60

$10,000 x .11924 = $1,192.40

How to record the spin-off in your portfolio

These instructions are for owners of MG.A-T. If you own MG.B-T, substitute MIM.B-T for MIM.A-T and 88.158% for 88.076% in the steps below.

  1. Determine your average cost per share of Magna by clicking Stocks-View/Edit/Delete Transactions on the Portfolio Menu page. Average cost is shown in the Avg Cost column of the report. You may want to write down this number for the following steps.
  2. Click Stocks-Record Buy/Sell on the Portfolio Menu page. Using a transaction date of August 26, 2003, record a sell of all shares of Magna at your average cost per share from Step 1.
  3. Next, using a transaction date of August 27, 2003, record the buy of the same number of shares of Magna, using a price equal to 88.076% of your average cost from Step 1.
  4. Finally, using a transaction date of August 27, 2003, record the buy of MI Developments. You must first add MIM.A-T to your portfolio. The number of shares is equal to 0.5 shares for each share of Magna you own. For the above example, 100 shares of Magna produces 50 shares of MI Developments for a total cost of $1,192.40, or a price of $23.84 per share.

* Please note: The percentages supplied are based on actual stock market prices. At the time of writing Magna has yet to supply their new average cost base, which may or may not differ from the values given above, and is generally considered the acceptable value for Canada Customs and Revenue Agency purposes. Should you wish to use the new average cost base, please contact Magna directly for this information.

If you own MGA-N, here’s how to record the spin-off in your portfolio:

  1. Determine your average cost per share of Magna by clicking Stocks-View/Edit/Delete Transactions on the Portfolio Menu page. Average cost is shown in the Avg Cost column of the report. You may want to write down this number for the following steps.
  2. Click Stocks-Record Buy/Sell on the Portfolio Menu page. Using a transaction date of August 29, 2003, record a sell of all shares of Magna at your average cost per share from Step 1.
  3. Next, using a transaction date of September 2, 2003, record the buy of the same number of shares of Magna, using a price equal to 88.068% of your average cost from Step 1.
  4. Finally, using a transaction date of September 2, 2003, record the buy of MI Developments. You must first add MIM-N to your portfolio. The number of shares is equal to 0.5 shares for each share of Magna you own.

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I own shares of Canadian Pacific Ltd. How do I record the break-up in my portfolio?

Follow these steps to record the CP Ltd break-up in your portfolio:

Holders of Canadian Pacific Limited (CPL) common shares will receive the following securities in exchange for every CPL common share held on the Effective Date:

  • 0.684 of a common share of PanCanadian Energy (PCE-T or PCX-N)
  • 0.50 of a common share of Canadian Pacific Railway Limited ("CP Rail") (CP-T or CP-N)
  • 0.25 of a common share of CP Ships Limited ("CP Ships") (TEU-T or TEU-N)
  • 0.25 of a common share of Fairmont Hotels & Resorts Inc. ("Fairmont") (FHR-N or FHR-T)
  • 0.166 of a common share of Fording Inc. ("Fording") (FDG-N or FDG-T)

How to reflect the break-up in your portfolio - example

For a user who owned 100 shares of CPL as of the close on October 2nd, 2001 they would receive 68.4 shares of PanCanadian Energy, 50 shares of CP Rail, 25 shares of CP Ships, 25 shares of Fairmont and 16.6 shares of Fording.

To record this in Globe Portfolio:

  1. Click Stocks-Record Buy/Sell on the Portfolio Menu page. Using a transaction date of October 2nd, 2001, record a sell of all shares of Canadian Pacific using the market price for the sale.
  2. Next, using a transaction date of October 2nd, 2001, record the buy of each of the 5 break-up companies as in the above example. Note: These calculations do not necessarily reflect the average cost base for Revenue Canada tax purposes. Please contact the company for this information.

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I own shares of BCE. How do I record the Nortel spin-off in my portfolio?

Follow these steps to record the Nortel spin-off in your portfolio and preserve your original cost base. To do so:

  • After the spin-off, the cost base of your BCE shares should drop to 30.79% of the original cost base.
  • You should receive 1.57 Nortel shares for each BCE share you own. The cost base of these shares should be 69.21% of the original cost base of BCE shares.
How to reflect the spin-off in your portfolio - example
For a user who owned 200 shares of BCE on May 2, 2000, at an average cost of $120 per share (total cost $24,000), the cost that should be allocated to BCE and Nortel as follows:

$24,000 X .3079 = $ 7,389.60
$24,000 X .6921 = $16,610.40

Therefore the new average cost for BCE should be $120 X 0.3079, or $36.948 per share.

To reflect this in Globe Portfolio:

  1. Determine your average cost per share of BCE by clicking Stocks-View/Edit/Delete Transactions on the Portfolio Menu page. Average cost is shown in the Avg Cost column of the report.
  2. Click Stocks-Record Buy/Sell on the Portfolio Menu page. Using a transaction date of May 2, 2000, record a sell of all units of BCE at your average cost per share (for the above example, 200 shares of BCE sold for $120 per share).
  3. Next, using a transaction date of May 3, 2000, record the buy of the same number of shares of BCE (for the above example, 200 shares of BCE bought for $7,389.60 or $36.948 per share).
  4. Finally, using a transaction date of May 3, 2000, record the buy of shares of NT-T (for the above example, 200 shares of BCE X 1.57 shares of Nortel = 314 Nortel shares post-spin-off for $16,610.40).

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When adding a stock to my portfolio, I receive the message "Symbol cannot be found." What should I do?

To look up symbols by company name, use the symbol lookup.

To find out if the stock symbol has changed, search the news on globeinvestor.com by entering the company name in the "Enter a keyword" field. The news search may return an article announcing a symbol change. Use the new symbol to add the stock to your portfolio.

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How do I track delisted stocks?

If you wish to track a stock that is delisted, click Add Delisted Stocks on the Portfolio Menu page. You will be asked to enter the stock symbol and the date on which you purchased the stock.

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How do I track short sells?

To short sell a stock, you must indicate that you will be short selling the stock when you add it to your portfolio. To do so, click Add New Stocks on the Portfolio Menu page. Enter the symbol of the stock you wish to short and select Yes from the drop-down list labeled Short Sell. You will be prompted to enter the initial number of units sold.

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How do I track reinvested dividends (DRIPs)?

Globe Portfolio will automatically record dividends in your portfolio on the day they occur. If you have a dividend reinvestment plan (DRIP), use the statement from your broker to record the purchase of shares on the appropriate date at the reinvestment price.

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When entering stocks for the first time into my portfolio, how do I record splits?

Globe Portfolio has split-adjusted prices for stocks after December 31, 1998. For this reason, we recommend that you track your stocks only after this date. If you wish to track stocks prior to December 31, 1998, you should adjust for splits by dividing the purchase price for a split and multiplying for a consolidation. Our system will then adjust for any splits after December 31, 1998.

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When does Globe Portfolio update dividends?

Globe Portfolio automatically records dividends in your portfolio on the day they occur. To view the dividends that Globe Portfolio has recorded in your portfolio, click View/Edit/Delete Transactions-Stocks on the Portfolio Menu page.

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I own shares of company XYZ. Company XYZ has issued a dividend in shares of Company ABC. How do I record this in my portfolio?

To record such a dividend in your portfolio, convert the value of Company ABC's shares to cash and enter the cash value of the dividend by clicking Record Dividend on the Portfolio Menu page.

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How do I modify a transaction?

To edit a transaction for a stock, click View/Edit/Delete Transaction-Stocks on the Portfolio Menu page. A list of all the stock transactions affecting your portfolio will be shown. Click the Edit link in the Edit column for the transaction you wish to modify, edit the transaction and click Update.

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I can't view the Standard report. Why?

If you have not recorded the number of shares you hold for a fund or a stock in your portfolio, you will be able to see the funds added to your Portfolio in the Fund Report and the stocks in the Stock Report. However, the Standard report and charts will not be available.

In order to record the initial number of units held, click Funds-Record Buy/Sell, Stocks-Record Buy/Sell or Other Investments-Record Buy/Sell on the Portfolio Menu page. You will be prompted to enter the number of units held and the date on which you wish to begin tracking your investments. Click the Buy button to record the information in Globe Portfolio. No actual units will be bought - clicking Buy merely records the information in your portfolio.

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