Charles Schwab

Updating Options Symbols in Quicken® and MS Money

Summary of the situation

  • Options currently listed in your Quicken or MS Money program will not automatically update to the new options symbol format when you synchronize with Schwab after either the conversion or any subsequent consolidation event.

What you can do

  • You may want to update the open options contracts in either financial software program with the new symbols to ensure accurate gain/loss reporting

    • This will also allow you to export your information to a tax program
    • Both Quicken and MS Money let you manually update your options symbols
If you choose to update your options symbols
    • Simply follow the directions in the above tabs marked “Quicken” or “MS Money”
    • Please note: If your symbols go through the consolidation process, you’ll need to re-edit them after that happens—just repeat the process listed in the appropriate section
If you choose not to update your options symbols
    • Any reports you run may not have accurate gain/loss information for your open options contracts
    • You will export inaccurate information about your open options contracts to your tax program
    • Your filled options contracts will remain listed with their old options symbols; their transaction histories will remain intact
Important items to note

  • After your first synchronization, you’ll see two entries in your Security List for every open options contract

    • The first entry is the original—it has the old symbol and all of the transaction information
    • The second entry (which you will have just downloaded from Schwab) will use the industry standard format, but will not contain any transaction information
    • As both Quicken and MS Money will have already downloaded transaction information with the original entry, neither one will download the information again

    After the conversion, all options symbols downloaded from Schwab to either financial program will be listed in the industry standard format, not the Schwab symbol format

    • If you use Quicken, you’ll see the Schwab symbol format appear in the description of the item

    Lastly, you won’t need to edit new options contracts downloaded from Schwab after the conversion or, in the case of options that go through consolidation, after the consolidation process

    • Going forward, your symbols will download correctly, as they did prior to this industry-wide event
Learn more about financial software changes: