GENERAL
What is a portfolio?
A portfolio is a collection of investments. You can create mock portfolios on Xearn. These portfolios work just like real portfolios, except that there is no real money involved. You can also blog about your investments and choose to allow others to view your portfolio and participate in discussions.
You start off with a fictional $100,000.00 for US portfolios and Rs. 50,00,000 for Indian portfolios. You place orders to buy and sell on Xearn, just as you would with a broker. Your portfolio on Xearn behaves like a real portfolio – moving up or down based on actual stock prices, earning dividends and interest and being adjusted for stock splits.
Why should I create a portfolio?
Having a portfolio on Xearn lets you do a few different things:
- It allows you to try out trading strategies without risking any actual money.
- You can share your picks with others, keep notes and engage in discussions with other investors.
- You get recognition and credibility for your investing skills
- Create your own investment newsletter. You focus on picking stocks and managig your portfolios. Xearn keeps track of your portfolio’s performance and manages subscribers
- You can make some money by enabling paid subscriptions or advertisements to your portfolios.
When you allow subscriptions, you don’t have to deal with charging subscribers, different subscription end dates and multiple subscription periods. Xearn takes care of making sure that only your subscribers access your portfolio, charging your subscribers, managing renewals, sending out alerts and monthly performance reports (based on each of your subscriber’s preferences). Xearn even looks out for shared user accounts. You have the flexibility of setting and changing the subscription prices and periods whenever you want to. Xearn pays you based on the subscriptions collected for your portfolios.
Why should I subscribe to a portfolio on Xearn?
Subscribing to a portfolio on Xearn allows you to view and learn from other investors. It’s a better version of a stock investment newsletter. You can be sure of the portfolio’s historical performance because Xearn independently calculates a number of return, risk and trading metrics. You get alerts whenever there is activity, instead of on a periodic basis, so that you can trade based on opportunities and market conditions. And you can join online discussions with the portfolio managers and other subscribers.
I already manage a real portfolio. Can I enter my previous trades and maintain my history on Xearn?
Historical trades need to be verified first. Please email support@xearn.com if you would like to have your historical trades verified and entered.
What are widgets?
Xearn widgets are mini-web applications that allow you to track your portfolio directly from your blog, website, iGoogle page, social profile or any customizable page. The widget automatically updates itself so that you and visitors to the page can see how your portfolio is doing. You can access widgets for any portfolio you created, manage or subscribe to. Using widgets is very simple. Find the widget you like and then click on the get this widget link below the widget. From there you can either copy the code you need to put on your website, or add the widget (Google Gadget) to your iGoogle page by clicking on the add to Google button. You can also get the My Portfolio Tracker iGoogle gadget from Xearn and use it with any portfolio on Xearn.com.
REGISTRATION
Why do I need to verify my email address?
Your email address is used to notify you of orders, trades and messages in the portfolios you subscribe to. We verify your email address so that you’ll be up to date with what’s happening in the portfolios you subscribe to.
What is the display name used for?
The display name is what other users will see. You can use a name that is more descriptive, but different from your username.
Can I change my display name?
Sorry, you cannot change your display name once you create it.
What is payout information?
Payout information tells us how to pay you. Payout information is not required to create or subscribe to portfolios.
We are legally required to collect US tax information. Xearn cannot make payment to you until this information is collected. Until this information is collected, your earnings will be held with Xearn. You will be paid after you have entered this information.
How do I edit my profile?
After you login, click on the link called ‘My Profile” on the upper right side. You can view your profile from here and edit it by clicking on the blue edit button.
How do I change my password?
You can change your password from the bottom of the edit profile page.
How do I change my payout information?
To change your payout information, click on the blue edit payout information button from the edit profile page.
MANAGING PORTFOLIOS
What should I do after I create a portfolio?
Once you create a portfolio click on the trade link in order to place trades. You should also activate your discussion area by posting a message. You can come back to the administration tab at any time to change your portfolio’s settings. Click here to view the portfolio management guide.
How do I buy or sell in my Xearn portfolio?
You can buy and sell stocks or ETFs in portfolios that you created or are a manager for. A portfolio can have positions in stocks from only 1 country. A US portfolio can only have positions in stocks that trade in the US and an Indian portfolio can only have positions in stocks that trade in India. From the My Portfolios page, first click on the portfolio that you want to trade in. Then, on the navigation panel on the left, click on Trade. In the Place an Order section, enter the ticker symbol of the stock or ETF you want to buy or sell and select the appropriate action. You can place both Market and Limit orders.
Can I ask someone to help me manage a portfolio?
Absolutely. You can even invite people who aren’t yet members of Xearn. Open up the portfolio and then go to the invitation area of the administration page. You can send them a note from here. Your invitations are automatically recorded, so that only people you invite are allowed to become managers.
You can control who manages the portfolios you create, by coming back to the administration page.
What is subscription status?
You decide whether you want to allow others to subscribe to your portfolio. You can even choose to charge for subscriptions. Xearn takes care of charging your subscribers. Subscribers can view your portfolio, but cannot make trades in your portfolio. They can view and participate in the blog and review your portfolio.
When you’re creating a new portfolio, you can choose to keep it private by not allowing subscribers, or allow free or paid subscriptions. You can choose what subscription periods are available and how much to charge for each period.
Once you’ve created a portfolio, you can change the subscription status at any time.
How much should I charge for subscriptions?
Subscription charges can be anywhere between $5.00 and $500.00 (except for weekly subscriptions which are capped at $100.00 per week) for US portfolios. For Indian portfolios subscription charges can range from Rs. 250 - Rs. 10,000 (except for weekly subscriptions which are capped at Rs. 1000 per week). You are free to choose any price in this range.
Most investment newsletters tend to cost between $100 and $500 per year. If you’re just starting out and don’t have a reputation yet, you may want to start at the low end or even lower.
What securities can I trade?
Currently you can trade only on securities listed in the NYSE, NASDAQ or AMEX for US portfolios and securities listed on the BSE and NSE for Indian portfolios.
Can I sell short?
Not yet!
Will my portfolio earn dividends and interest?
Yes. Dividends will be credited to your account and your cash balance will earn interest monthly on the average cash balance. The interest rate may change from month to month and is not tiered based on your cash balance. The current interest rate on cash balances is 2.5% per year for USD balances and 4.5% for INR balances, paid out monthly.
Why hasn’t my market order executed yet?
We hold back all orders for a short period to give subscribers a chance to place similar orders and match the performance of your portfolio. If you find your order hasn’t executed for over 2 hours while the market is open and transactions have taken place, please email us at support@xearn.com.
I tried canceling my order and the status changed to pending cancel. What does this mean?
We want subscribers to be able to make the same transactions as in your portfolio. So we hold back cancellation requests for a short period so that your subscribers can cancel their orders. It is possible that the order gets executed in this period.
Why is there a limit to how many portfolios I can create?
We want Xearn to be the home of serious investors. The number of portfolios is limited to prevent users from creating tons and tons of portfolios hoping that a few of them will do well. We’d rather that users try to make each portfolio do well.
We do recognize that there are some circumstances that warrant more portfolios. If you believe you should have more portfolios, do drop us a note at support@xearn.com.
SUBSCRIPTIONS
What are the subscription terms?
Subscription terms are set by the person who creates the portfolio. Weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual subscription periods are available. The price ranges from $5.00 - $500.00 (except for weekly subscriptions which are between $5.00 and $100.00). For Indian portfolios subscription charges can range from Rs. 250 - Rs. 10,000 (except for weekly subscriptions which are capped at Rs. 1000 per week). Please note that even though the subscription price for Indian portfolios is quoted in Rs., you will be charged the USD equivalent.
The first time you subscribe to a portfolio, you even get a 14 day risk free trial!
Can I view a portfolio's positions and blog before I subscribe to it?
You can test drive a portfolio during the 14 day free trial. If you're not satisified with the portfolio, you can cancel during the trial period and you won't be charged.
When can I cancel a subscription?
You can cancel your subscription during the risk free trial at absolutely no cost to you. After the 14 day trial period, you can cancel renewals at any time. After the 14 day trial period subscriptions are not entitled to a refund.
How can I change my email or renewal preferences?
Click on the ‘edit subscription settings’ link on top of the subscribed portfolios table from your my Portfolios area, or on the ‘Subscriptions Settings’ link on the left side from any of your portfolios. After you set your email and subscription preferences, remember to click on the ‘update’ link.
How do I change my payment method?
Click on the ‘edit subscription settings’ link on top of the subscribed portfolios table from your my Portfolios area, or on the ‘Subscriptions Settings’ link on the left side from any of your portfolios. Clicking on update payment method will allow you to change your method of payment.
Why was I charged $0.00?
If the subscription to a portfolio is free, you will see the cost as $0.00. You are not asked for any payment information for free subscriptions.
All paid subscriptions come with a 14 day risk free trial. When you sign up for the subscription, we authorize your credit card, but do not charge it.
I had subscribed to a portfolio. Why is it no longer showing up in my portfolios?
A portfolio you subscribed to will no longer show up in your portfolios if the creator of that portfolio deletes it. It will show up again if the creator restores that portfolio during your subscription term.
This can happen only for free subscriptions. If you paid for a subscription, that portfolio will not be deleted and will always be available in your portfolios as long as your subscription is active.
My renewal has been suspended. What does that mean?
If the portfolio’s creator decides against allowing renewals, then your renewal is changed to a suspended status. If the portfolio is opened up for subscriptions again before your subscription ends, your renewal will automatically go through.
My renewal is on hold. What does that mean?
When the creator of a portfolio increases the price of the portfolio, then your subscription is put on hold until you come back and accept the new price. If the price drops back before your subscription ends, the hold is removed from your renewal.
ADVERTISING
How do I make money from advertisements?
We show advertisements from the Google Adsense network. When you provide us with your Google Adsense Publisher ID, we split the advertisements with your ID so that you can earn money directly into your Google Adsense Account. You can keep track of your advertisement’s performance and earnings from your Google Adsense account.
How do I get started with advertisements?
1. Select the check box to show advertisements from the portfolio administration page.
2. Click on 'My profile' on the upper right side of the screen and then click on the edit payout information button. Enter your google publisher id on this page.
3. If you don’t already have a Google Publisher Id, you can get one for free by signing up at the Google Adsense website. Once you log in to your Google Adsense account, your Publisher Id is shown in the upper right corner and looks like pub-1234567890123456. (The website url for your portfolio can be got from going to your portfolio’s home page. It will be similar to http://www.xearn.com/portfolio/Invest-like-Buffett.aspx.aspx)
Why don’t I see my own advertisements?
The Google Adsense Terms & Conditions state that one should not click on their own advertisements. So, when you are logged in, you don’t see advertisements with your own Publisher ID.
My Google Adsense account is suspended. What should I do?
You will need to work directly with Google to reactivate your Adsense Account. Please remove your Publisher ID until the account has been reactivated.