How large a portfolio should I start with?
When
you create your portfolio, KaChing defaults to an opening cash balance of
$1,000,000 from which you can make investments. You are welcome to choose any
size portfolio you wish. Many of our members pick an initial cash balance equal
to the current value of their actual portfolios, so that they can match changes
in their KaChing portfolio with changes in their real portfolio. Others prefer
to work with a fantasy size. No matter what size you start with, other members
will see your portfolio indexed to an opening size of $1,000,000 in order to
maintain the confidentiality of your true holdings.
How many Portfolios may I create?
You
may create as many portfolios as you wish although you may not have more than
five (5) portfolios if you wish any of your portfolios to be ranked site-wide
(see question on eligibility requirements).
How do I delete a portfolio?
Choose
the portfolio that you want to delete, click on the “Edit” button in the blue
bar on the top of the page then click the “delete” button.
What kind of securities may I buy and sell?
You
may go long or short any US listed (NYSE, AMEX, or NASDAQ) common stock,
preferred stock or index.
May I purchase non US listed securities?
Unfortunately
at this time you may only invest in US listed stocks and indexes
May I trade Indexes?
Yes,
as long as they are traded on a US exchange.
May I trade Mutual Funds or ETFs?
You
may not trade Mutual Funds or ETFs.
How do you determine the price at which you
can purchase or sell a stock?
KaChing
currently requires that you purchase or sell a stock at the last publicly
reported trade price for that security subject to a 20 minute delay. However if
you attempt to trade after the market has closed, the site will execute the trade
at the opening price on the next business day.
Are there any limits as to how many shares I
can buy or sell in one day?
KaChing
limits daily trade quantities in any one security to one third (1/3) of the
proposed investment’s average daily trading volume over the last three (3)
months.
Why do you charge a commission on each trade?
We
impose a trading commission of $0.04 per share on every trade in order to model
the real world
May I short a stock?
Yes,
but the total value of your short positions may not exceed two (2) times the
total value of your long positions plus Cash and the total value of your long
positions plus Cash plus the Short Collateral balance must represent at least
150% of the total value of your short positions
May I use the cash generated from short sales
to buy additional stocks?
All
the cash generated from short sales is used as collateral against your short
position and therefore may not be used to purchase additional securities.
How do you calculate the Short Collateral Cash
Balance?
We
sum the greater of value or cost for each short position. Cash will be
transferred from your Cash Balance to your Short Collateral balance each time a
short position trades at a loss. It will transferred back to Cash if the loss
on the position narrows.
May I buy on margin?
Buying on margin is not allowed.
On what basis do you rank members?
Rankings
are based on the performance of members’ portfolios over a variety of time
periods including the past week, month, quarter and eventually year.
How often are rankings calculated?
Rankings
are recalculated every hour
Are there any eligibility requirements to
participate in site-wide rankings?
Your
portfolios must comply with the following rules in order to be ranked
site-wide:
·
You must own at least
five (5) stocks in your portfolio.
·
No individual stock
may represent more than 50% of your portfolio’s value (excluding cash)
·
You may not manage
more than five (5) portfolios on the site
How do you determine the risk level displayed
in the rankings?
The risk icon is a
function of a portfolio’s KaChing Risk Index. The KaChing Risk Index is a
custom risk metric used to assess portfolio risk based on a blend of the
following four risk metrics:
|
Risk
Metric |
Weighting |
|
Percentage of Months with a
negative return |
55% |
|
Downside Standard Deviation |
25% |
|
Standard Deviation |
12% |
|
Portfolio Beta |
8% |
For
each component we compare the portfolio’s observed risk metric to the 10 year
average for the Russell 3000. For example, if a portfolio has a 3.92% Standard
Deviation (of monthly returns), which is 10 % lower than the observed Russell
3000 monthly Standard Deviation of 4.35% then the portfolio will receive score
of 90 for that component. By definition the Russell 3000 component will always
score 100. Index scores greater than 100 imply higher risk and scores less than
100 imply lower risk.
Who gets to see my portfolio holdings and
research?
By
joining the site you agree to allow all members to access a list of the stocks
you own in each portfolio and the rationale behind your investments. Remember
that other members will see your portfolio indexed
to an opening size of $1,000,000 in order to maintain the confidentiality of
your true holdings.
Can I see who is participating on the site?
You
may find other participants by browsing the site wide ranking or by using the
“Find Friends” and “Find Portfolios” functions in the left hand navigation bar.
What profile information is displayed when
someone views my portfolio page?
Your
"Picture", "Battle Cry", "Most Revered Investor",
"Best Investment", "Worst Investment" and link to your
Personal Web page or Blog can be found in the profile section of your portfolio
page. We never publish email address although we do allow members to search for
their friends via their email addresses.
We only use your real name to identify you when you send an invitation
to a friend.
Why do you ask members to share their
investment rationale under “Research?”
We
ask members to share their investment ideas in order to attract “subscribers”
and to create a more vibrant investment community.
How do I access another member’s research?
You
may access a member’s research from their portfolio page by clicking on the
stars in their profile or under the research heading in their detailed
portfolio listing.
How do I rate another member’s research?
You rate
another member’s research by clicking on the number of stars you deem
appropriate on a scale of one to five with five being the best.
How do you calculate my average research
rating?
KaChing
calculates average research rating by averaging the community's rating for each
stock researched. Any member can give a 1 through 5 score to any other member's
research for a particular stock. Members cannot rate a stock more than once,
but can change the rating they provided at any time simply by clicking on a
different star level.
What is the purpose of a “Subscription?”
“Subscribe” to a portfolio if you would
like to keep track of it and be alerted whenever it makes a trade or posts research.
How do I find a portfolio of interest?
You may
either browse the “Site Wide Rankings” or “Most Popular” lists or use the “Find
Friends” and “Find Portfolios” tools in the left hand navigation bar to find
portfolios worthy of subscription.
Where can I find the relative performance of
my “subscriptions?”
A
listing of your “subscriptions” and their trading activity are displayed on
your “My KaChing” page.
How does one get ranked in the “Most Popular”
list?
The
“Most Popular” list ranks members by the number of subscribers they attract.
What is the purpose of the “Trade Monitor?”
The
“Trade Monitor” allows you to track all the trading and research activity of
the members to whom you have “subscribed.”
How do I change my Username?
You may not change your username.
How do I change the email address I want to associate with my Username or add another one?
Click on “My Profile” in the left hand navigation panel then click on the edit button in the blue bar at the top of the page then click on the “Email” tab and choose the appropriate action.
How do I manage the flow of email alerts I
receive?
Click
on “My Profile” in the left hand navigation panel then click on the edit button
in the blue bar at the top of the page
then click on the “Notifications” tab and choose the alerts you want to
receive.
How do I stop receiving email alerts?
Click
on My Profile” in the left hand navigation panel then click on the edit button
in the blue bar at the top of the page
then click on the “Notifications” tab and click “Turn off all notifications”
How do you determine which Index to benchmark
performance in your performance charts?
Performance
charts display your portfolio’s performance over time as compared to a broad
market benchmark and a style benchmark. For the broad market benchmark, KaChing
offers you the opportunity to choose between the S&P 500 index and the
Russell 3000 index. Most experts would agree the Russell 3000 index is more
representative of the market as a whole because it contains pricing information
from 3,000 companies as opposed to only 500. In addition to the broad market
index, you will be offered a choice of three indexes for Value investing
(Russell 1000 Value for Large Cap Value, Russell 2000 for Small Cap Value and
Russell 3000 Value for Broad based Value) or three indexes for Growth investing
(Russell 1000 Growth for Large Cap Growth, Russell 2000 Growth for Small Cap
Growth and Russell 3000 Growth for Broad based Growth investing). You will not
be offered a style index if you chose “Blend” as your portfolio style.
What is the purpose of “The Wall?”
To
allow you to communicate with fellow community members.
Can I communicate privately with a KaChing
member?
Post
a message on the Wall of the member you want to reach explaining that you would
like to have a private conversation and ask them to reply with a private email
that contains their email address so that you can begin a private conversation.
How do I edit my profile or picture?
Click
on the link labeled “My Profile” in the left hand navigation panel then click
on the “Edit” button in the blue bar at the top of the page.
What interest rate do I earn on my cash
balance?
Cash
balances earn interest at the Federal Funds rate less 200 basis points (2%).
Do I earn interest on the cash generated from
short sales?
Cash
generated from short sales is held as collateral against those sales and will
not earn interest.
Do you charge interest on my short positions
that are trading at a loss?
We
do not charge interest on your negative short balances. Rather we move cash
from your Cash Balance to your Short Collateral balance to make up the loss.
This will cause you to lose the opportunity to earn interest on the transferred
cash.
When is interest added to my portfolio’s
performance?
Interest
earned is calculated once per month and accounted for on the last business day
of each calendar month. Accounting for interest earned will be deferred until
the beginning of the following month when the Fed Funds Rate is not published
on the last business day of the month
When are dividends added to my portfolio’s
performance?
Cash
dividends are paid on the “Pay Date” based on the number of shares owned on the
“Record Date.” Stock dividends are paid on the “Pay Date.” Stock splits and
acquisitions are processed after market close on their effective date.
What role do taxes play in the performance
numbers?
Taxes
are not taken into consideration for returns or interest.
How do I delete a competition?
Only
the creator of a competition may delete a competition. To delete a competition,
look for the competition you would like to delete under “My Competitions” in
the left hand navigation bar, click on it then click on the “Edit” button in
the blue bar at the top of the page and click on delete.
How do I drop out of a competition?
Choose
the portfolio that you want to delete from a competition, click on the “Edit”
button in the blue bar on the top of the page then uncheck the competition from
which you want to be removed
How do I report a bug or ask for help?
You
may enter a bug, product suggestions, FAQ suggestions or anything you deem
relevant by clicking on Feedback on the top of every page. You are also welcome to email us at support@KaChing.com.
What is your privacy policy?
Click on the link labeled Privacy
Policy at the bottom of the
page.