Stock, Mutual Fund Tables Offer More Data
The Times has revised its stock and mutual fund listings. The aim is to make the data easier to read and more relevant.
Among the key changes in the tables, which appear today beginning on C5:
* Type has been made more readable where possible.
* Stocks now are priced in decimals rather than fractions.
* More stock mutual funds are now listed daily, and each fund’s daily change is expressed in percentage terms rather than in dollars and cents.
* Other than the largest bond mutual funds, daily price information is no longer shown for bond funds. However, the largest-bond-funds table accounts for the vast majority of bond fund assets.
The following are answers to common questions investors may have about the changes. For more details, go to: https://www.latimes.com/markets.
We are interested in reader reaction to the tables. If you have any questions or comments, e-maildaniel.gaines@latimes.com, or leave a message at: (213) 237-4557.
Question: Why does The Times now publish stock prices in decimals rather than fractions?
Answer: All U.S. stock markets will switch to decimals from fractions, beginning in mid-2000. We are switching ahead of the markets because many readers have indicated their preference for decimals.
Q: How are mutual fund names now abbreviated?
A: The Times has used mutual fund data from Lipper Analytical on most tables in the past. It will now use data from Morningstar Inc. The two services abbreviate fund names differently. In a few cases, the differences will change the order mutual funds and fund families appear in the table.
In particular, Morningstar has grouped most classes of funds under a single family name. For example, Merrill Lynch A, B, C and D funds now appear under a single header, Merrill Lynch.
Q: Why do you now show daily percentage change in each fund’s share price, not the change in dollars and cents per share?
A: By expressing that move in percentage terms now, rather than in dollars and cents per share, the new tables will allow investors to quickly see which funds have moved significantly.
Readers who track the total value of their portfolios daily can still do so, of course. Say you own 1,000 shares of a fund with a current net asset value (NAV) of $12. Your holdings are worth $12,000. With the daily percentage gain or loss in the table, you can instantly see how much your holdings rose or fell that day.
Q: Why do you publish more equity mutual funds than bond mutual funds daily?
A: Bond fund values generally change little on a day-to-day basis.
However, The Times will continue to publish data on the largest bond funds each day, which cover the vast majority of bond fund assets. Data on most bond funds are still published weekly, on Sundays.
Q: What is the “Vol. %” figure now in the daily stock tables?
A: This is a new calculation that will generally be more useful to most investors than a raw volume figure. The “volume percentage” figure compares the previous day’s volume in a stock with its average volume for the last 65 days.
For example, a figure of “+50” means 50% more shares traded hands the previous day than the average of the previous 65 days.
The volume-percentage figure takes the place of the daily volume figure, which The Times has dropped from its tables.
Q: Why focus on the percentage change in volume rather than the actual number of shares traded?
A: Volume changes can be as important as price changes when evaluating stocks, because volume changes can indicate more--or less--interest in a stock.
Q: What is the PPE ratio?
A: This is a new figure The Times is adding in the highlighted tables for widely known stocks and other stocks in the news.
The PPE, or projected price-to-earnings ratio, is the current stock price divided by the stock’s estimated earnings per share over the coming 12 months. The earnings estimate used to calculate the PPE is Wall Street analysts’ consensus estimate for a particular stock, as compiled by IBES International.
