A frequently asked question we often receive is: Does FAST Graphs™ cover ETFs or other fund types?
The simple answer is no for the following reasons: FAST is an acronym for Fundamentals Analyzer Software Tool, and as such, were designed to illustrate the relationship between an individual company’s fundamentals (primarily earnings) and their stock price. More plainly stated, FAST Graphs provide research on individual companies.
Additionally, F.A.S.T. Graphs™ is based off of a company database. As such, aggregation vehicles such as indices, ETF’s, mutual funds or Closed End Funds usually have limited data. Depending on the aggregation vehicle, our database – S&P Capital IQ – might have price and performance data, but the underlying earnings information is typically lacking.
The only reason that some funds show up at all is because they are publicly-traded, and the Capital IQ database does recognize their symbols. However, when you go into the database there is no data other than price data which excludes most fundamental metrics that are typically reported on an individual company. Therefore, you may have noticed that all you typically get on a FAST Graph on funds is a price history. If you look at the bottom of the graph you will notice that no dividends are reported on the graph itself.
With the above said, FAST Graphs could be a useful tool for analyzing ETFs and other aggregate products if you had a list of the product’s holdings. You could then create a FAST Graphs’ portfolio and review each of the holdings independently or create a portfolio review for deeper analysis.