What to look for in
stock screeners

There are plenty of stock screeners available. First, and foremost, the best stock screener for you must be able to handle the investing strategies you plan to use. This means it must have the data points and stock exchanges you require and the logic to screen for the criteria you want. Otherwise, any extra features are pointless.

Remember, these are stock screening tools and you are looking for the best tool for the job.

Personal preferences

Some features are simply a matter of personal preference. The location of the data is a good example.  Do you prefer loading data onto your personal computer or would you prefer the database to be online.

Stock screener "must have" features

Since you will use the screener for your investing strategies, you must be able to save the screen associated with a strategy by name.  If you cannot, you will need to re-enter the strategy criteria each time you want to run it.

If the screener does not allow you to save your screen, you should not invest the time to learn how to use the screener.

In addition to saving the screen for future use, the following are must-have features if you are serious about stock screening:

• Exporting the screen results to a spreadsheet – you may prefer to export the view of the data as it existed at the time the screen was run. This allows more complete analysis of results.
• Access to the filing date of the underlying company data. You do not want to invest based on out-of-date information. Generally, price data is current but you need to confirm the timeliness of the company supplied data.

Other features

For most of us, other features of the best stock screener fall into the “nice to have” category.  Advanced features may fall into the personal preference category.

Extra features only have value if they benefit you. If several screeners can handle your investing strategies, the benefits of the extra features can be a deciding factor.

NOTE: many stock screeners offer pre-defined screens. If you can view the actual criteria and understand the historical performance of the screen, it can bu a useful investing strategy for you. But if you cannot see the criteria, it is proprietary and defeats the purpose of stock screening.

The following screener evaluations consider "must have", "nice to have" and "advanced" features:

• AAII Stock Investor Pro
• CNBC Stock Screener
• FinViz Stock Screener
• Morningstar Premium Stock Screener
• MSN Stock Screener
• Portfolio123 Free Stock Screener
• SmartMoney Stock Screener
• StockScreen123 Stock Screener
• Yahoo Finance Screener

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