Updated 01/31/14

Sieve on Family Tab

Use the Sieve to create a custom family from existing families. The sieve combines existing families to create new families. The family members resulting from the Sieve computations are placed in the Issue List under the Sieve.

Action Buttons

The left most column of buttons. Click a button places a family into the sieve taking specific actions described below. The "Action" column in the Sieve shows which button was clicked when placing the family into the sieve row.

• Clear - Clears the sieve but not the Issue List. To clear the Issue List, right-click on the list and click "Clear List"
• [+] - Adds the selected family's funds to the sieve.
• [-] - Subtracts any funds common to the selected family and the sieve from the current sieve.
• And - Removes issues from the list that are not in the family.
• Xor - Removes issues from the list that are in the family and adds issues of the family that are not in the list.
• Load - Loads a previously saved sieve.
• Save - Saves the current sieve.
• [=] - Recalculates the current sieve. Hit the = button after going back and editing the Action or Family.

1. Highlight (single-left-click) a family in the tree. Do not double-click.
2. Click an action button. This enters a line in the sieve and changes the Issue List contents.
3. Click a Sieve cell to edit it's contents.
4. Delete highlighted Sieve lines using the delete key on the keyboard.
5. Click the Recalculate (= Button) to ensure that the Issue List contents are correct.

The results column tell how many issues are included in the list at each step of the computation. The Family column in the Issue List tells which of the families processed in the sieve contained each issue.

Loading/Saving the Sieve

A Practical Example

FastTrack used to provide B- . . . families. These were families of funds that could be purchased through brokerages. These families were discontinued because they were no longer needed since virtually all brokerages now can purchase at least one class of any mutual fund.

Here's how to create a new equivalent family of low cost funds. Use the Sieve to combine the InvUniverse Family with any other family. The results in the list are members of both Fidelity and InvUniverse families.

In this example, the nearly 322 Fidelity funds are reduced to 241 funds that can be purchased through most brokerages at low cost with no load.

The broadest application would be to simply load the InvUniverse family. However, there would be many, many diverse funds which would be difficult to narrow down into a rational diversified family. By using Fidelity, Rydex, or Vanguard family with InvUniverse, the resulting list of funds will be less redundant. i.e. You won't have to choose among twenty S&P 500 Index funds.

One more example as of 8/6/2013

We combined the ALL-BOND AND INVUNIVERSE families. One of the members, VKMMX, has been a Class -A load fund in the not too distant past.

However, Notice that this partial Morningstar-Source listing shows that VKMMX is available in a variety of Fidelity NTF programs. Unfortunately, such memberships change so quickly, that Fidelity (and other brokerages)  do not make a comprehensive NTF list easily available to individual investors.

Having picked a particular fund, you may have to search the brokerage's NTF web site to get the exact class ( -R, -I, -Y, ad infinitum) which find which fund currently available as NTF.