Users' Knowledge Base

The Russell Investment Group produces a range of Global and U.S. equity indexes.

At their http://www.russell.com/Indexes/ site they have the following to say about their American indexes:

"Russell produces a family of U.S. equity indexes. The indexes are market cap-weighted and include only common stocks incorporated in the United States and its territories. All U.S. indexes are subsets of the Russell 3000E Index, which represents approximately 99% of the U.S. equity market…..Excluding stocks trading below $1.00, pink sheet and bulletin board stocks, closed-end mutual funds, limited partnerships, royalty trusts, etc, non-U.S. incorporated stocks, foreign stocks, American Depositary Receipts (ADRs)".

For additional information on the Russell Indexes refer to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Indexes

Detailed information, including methodologies and membership lists, is available from the above link or the Russell home site: http://www.russell.com/us/SiteNav.asp

To obtain membership lists for the US market go to the HomePage >> Indexes >> Index Membership >> Membership Lists or follow the link: http://www.russell.com/Indexes/membership/default.asp

The lists are downloadable in PDF format.

To manually extract AmiBroker compliant component lists from the PDF files:

• 1) Open the PDF and change the View >> Page Layout to Continuous from the Adobe Reader menu bar.
• 2) Pick Select All and then Copy, (also from the Adobe Reader menu bar).
• 3) Paste the copied selection into a blank Excel worksheet and manipulate the data using Excels built-in functions.

An example list can be downloaded by right clicking on the link below and clicking on Save Target As to save the file to a local drive.

Note: The attached file assumes a basic knowledge of Xcel and Xcel functions.

ATTACHED FILE:

Russell (US) 3000 Index:  russell3000.xls

_{Written using Adobe Reader v7.0 and Xcel 2002}

Filed by brian_z at 3:49 am under Database Management Resources
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Hemscott Inc is the owner of the stock classification system used by Yahoo at their Y!Finance (USA) site as well as by other data providers.

As AmiBroker user Dick Hoierman noted in a recent AmiBroker group discussion;  "Hemscott has more or less become the standard as TC2007 and others have switched to it." ¹  which makes the topic one of interest for many AmiBroker owners.

Interested readers can find  Hemscott Industry Group listings at the Hemscott site: http://www.hemscottdata.com/ 

To access the list go to the Homepage >> Financial Databases >> North American Industry Groups >> Hemscott Industry Groups which is the path to an HTML version: http://www.hemscottdata.com/fin_database/na_hemscott_industry_group.html 

Unfortunately a downloadable version is not available at the site but a ‘working’ version can be obtained by manual, albeit tedious, means.

To make a text copy of the HTML list:

• 1) Manually select and copy the relevant ‘text’ from the web page.
• 2) Paste it into a blank Xcel worksheet.
• 3) Use the copy, paste, delete, sort features and text functions to manipulate the data into the desired format.
• 4) Once the lists are suitable for use as an AmiBroker industry, or sector file, select a column, copy the contents and paste it into a text editor e.g. NotePad.
• 5) Save the text file in the C:/Program Files/AmiBroker folder (or the equivalent) as Hemscottbroker.industries or Hemscottbroker.sectors for use as required.

To download a spreadsheet, or a text file, with the current listings right click on the links below and select Save Target As to download them to a local drive.

Note: The spreadsheet is ‘raw’ and assumes a knowledge of basic Xcel and Xcel functions (refer to the Notes worksheet for instructions). The text files are intended as ‘Master’ copies as they contain lists with different ‘formats’. Users need to delete the unwanted sections from the text files.

ATTACHED FILES:

• Hemscott Industry Groups spreadsheet: hemscottclassificationssept2007.xls
• Hemscott broker industries text file: hemscottbrokerindustriessept2007.txt
• Hemscott broker sectors text file: hemscottbrokersectorssept2007.txt

•  _{Version 1 – Sept14/2007}
• _{Version 2 – sept16/2007 – instructions rewritten – updated attached files to include additional workings and AmiBroker compliant numbering}

Written using MicroSoft XPHome, Internet Explorer v7 and Excel 2002.

1 Dick Hoierman – AmiBrokerYahooGroup – message #115044 – US-Stocks database template

Filed by brian_z at 5:27 am under Database Management Resources
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American citizens can invest in the shares of hundreds of major overseas-based companies, including names such as British Petroleum, Sony, and Toyota, via American Depository Receipts (ADRs) that are traded on the US stock markets in US dollars.

For an expansive definition of ADRs refer to: WikiPedia >> American Depository Receipts

An article at the www.sec.gov site has the following advice for Americans.

The stocks of most foreign companies that trade in the U.S. markets are traded as American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) issued by U.S. depositary banks. Each ADR represents one or more shares of a foreign stock or a fraction of a share. If you own an ADR you have the right to obtain the foreign stock it represents, but U.S. investors usually find it more convenient to own the ADR. The price of an ADR corresponds to the price of the foreign stock in its home market, adjusted for the ratio of ADRs to foreign company shares.

Owning ADRs has some advantages compared to owning foreign shares directly:

• When you buy and sell ADRs you are trading in the U.S. market. Your trade will clear and settle in U.S. dollars.
• The depositary bank will convert any dividends or other cash payments into U.S. dollars before sending them to you.
• The depositary bank may arrange to vote your shares for you as you instruct.

On the other hand there are some disadvantages:

• It may take a long time for you to receive information from the company because it must pass through an extra pair of hands. You may receive information about shareholder meetings only a few days before the meeting, well past the time when you could vote your shares.
• Depositary banks charge fees for their services and will deduct these fees from the dividends and other distributions on your shares.
• The depositary bank also will incur expenses, such as for converting foreign currency into U.S. dollars, and usually will pass those expenses on to you.

To download the complete PDF link to: SEC guide to foreign investing for U.S. citizens(PDF)

Note: The PDF contains a very basic, albeit somewhat dated, table to highlight the negative correlation that sometimes exists between international equity markets and the US equity market.

A list of current ADRs can be downloaded as a spreadsheet from: http://www.adr.com

On the first visit to the site it is necessary to accept the terms of access (there is no fee or login and personal, or contact details, do not have to be provided).

To download the file:

From the adr.com Homepage go to the DR Universe tab >> Download Universe to open the following link: http://www.adr.com/jpmorgan/gau/adr_gau.xls 

Note: For accessing ADR data from Yahoo – generally ADRs that are listed on the major markets use the ticker as it is listed in the adr_gau file, while those that are traded on the OTC market use an extension e.g. AGRPY.PK

Filed by brian_z at 4:11 am under Database Management Resources
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Easy access to free Yahoo data, using AmiBrokers companion down-loader AmiQuote, is a huge bonus for AmiBroker users.

In this tutorial, the first in a series of Users’ Knowledge Base articles on Yahoo data management, new users are introduced to some basic concepts utilizing mainly GUI methods. Walk through examples, using the Dow Jones Industrial Average database installed with AmiBroker, and apply simple customized formulas written in AFL (AmiBroker Formula Language).

FORMULAS FEATURED: BeginValue(); LastValue; DateNum(); BarCount; Status(); FullName(); IsIndex(); GroupID(); MarketID(); SectorID() and IndustryID().

INCLUDING: database location, backup and naming; ticker lists (.tls files); company information pages; symbol addition and deletion; updating quotes; writing and saving formulas in Formula Editor; running Explorations and viewing the results list; data quality checking using the Database Purify Tool; adding favorites to the Web Research list; setting the default and scrolling Yahoo pages in the AmiBroker browser; deleting quotes in Quote Editor; rearranging the Workspace layout using the Docking sticker; Ticker Toolbar searching and more …………….

Attached Files:

• exampledatabase.doc (1178 KB) (Word 2002 document)
• x-categories.afl (262 bytes)
• x-database.afl (226 bytes)
• _{Click on the link to browse document files on line, or, Save As to download an editable version, complete with a document map (the document map will only be available to users who own a copy of Word).}
• _{To download .afl files to the desktop right click on the link  and Save Target As ‘filename’ at Program Files/AmiBroker/Formulas/Custom to access them as formulas in the AmiBroker Charts list.}

Filed by brian_z at 12:03 am under Database Management
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