Delete custom asset classes

WindowFinance

Quicken recently automatically created two "custom" asset classes. (see attached) They are empty. How can I delete them? Thanks.

Boatnmaniac

@WindowFinance - If you use and previously set Target allocations on the Allocations screen of Investing, you will probably see that all of your previously set Targets are now showing 0% and that 100% is now entered for Unclassified.  This happened when the Custom Asset Classes was implemented with R30.9.  So, you will want to reenter your Target percentages as appropriate.

Also, on this Allocations screen you should see only Asset Allocations that you have set target percentages for or for which there are securities that have been classified.  There should be no "Custom#" Asset Classes shown unless a target for it has been set or a security has been assigned to it.  If you see "Custom#" shown, delete the target percentage or find the security that has been assigned to it and in Edit Security Details you can change or delete its assigned Asset Class.

LexLuther

> @Boatnmaniac said:
> @WindowFinance - If you use and previously set Target allocations on the Allocations screen of Investing, you will probably see that all of your previously set Targets are now showing 0% and that 100% is now entered for Unclassified.  This happened when the Custom Asset Classes was implemented with R30.9. 

This is good information. I just posted in another thread that my targets had disappeared, and restoring a database backup doesn't help. "you will want to reenter" .. actually, I don't want to reenter, but will if I could enter the target number I had there at last reallocation. Since I trusted Quicken to keep up with that info, that information seems to have been lost.

Tom Young

People have been asking for a long time to have custom asset classes that can be attached to securities and Quicken has accommodated that request.  You should be seeing a whole list of "Custom#" classes:

Highlighting one of those "Custom#"s and clicking "Edit" allows you to change that class name to something that's meaningful to you, and then attach it to relevant securities.  If you haven't done that then these new classes should just be sitting there, not attached to any securities.

Boatnmaniac

@WindowFinance - If you use and previously set Target allocations on the Allocations screen of Investing, you will probably see that all of your previously set Targets are now showing 0% and that 100% is now entered for Unclassified.  This happened when the Custom Asset Classes was implemented with R30.9.  So, you will want to reenter your Target percentages as appropriate.

Also, on this Allocations screen you should see only Asset Allocations that you have set target percentages for or for which there are securities that have been classified.  There should be no "Custom#" Asset Classes shown unless a target for it has been set or a security has been assigned to it.  If you see "Custom#" shown, delete the target percentage or find the security that has been assigned to it and in Edit Security Details you can change or delete its assigned Asset Class.

LexLuther

> @Boatnmaniac said:
> @WindowFinance - If you use and previously set Target allocations on the Allocations screen of Investing, you will probably see that all of your previously set Targets are now showing 0% and that 100% is now entered for Unclassified.  This happened when the Custom Asset Classes was implemented with R30.9. 

This is good information. I just posted in another thread that my targets had disappeared, and restoring a database backup doesn't help. "you will want to reenter" .. actually, I don't want to reenter, but will if I could enter the target number I had there at last reallocation. Since I trusted Quicken to keep up with that info, that information seems to have been lost.

Boatnmaniac

LexLuther said:

> @Boatnmaniac said:
> @WindowFinance - If you use and previously set Target allocations on the Allocations screen of Investing, you will probably see that all of your previously set Targets are now showing 0% and that 100% is now entered for Unclassified.  This happened when the Custom Asset Classes was implemented with R30.9. 

This is good information. I just posted in another thread that my targets had disappeared, and restoring a database backup doesn't help. "you will want to reenter" .. actually, I don't want to reenter, but will if I could enter the target number I had there at last reallocation. Since I trusted Quicken to keep up with that info, that information seems to have been lost.

You can reenter the targets you had there at the last reallocation.  Why do you think you cannot do that?

WindowFinance

> @Boatnmaniac said:
> You can reenter the targets you had there at the last reallocation.  Why do you think you cannot do that?

Thank you . I cannot do that because I don't remember what my target allocation was. Now I have to figure that out again.

LexLuther

Exactly. I was using Quicken to track such things. Now Quicken has not only lost my targets, but I have no way to view targets set in the past. Is the lesson here to make sure you keep your financial data in a place other than Quicken so you can re-enter it when Quicken loses it?

WindowFinance

Yes, luckily, at some point, I printed my target allocation to a pdf file and now was able to find that file. Probably not exactly my last target allocation but it gave me a starting template.

The consequence of this incident is minor. However, this sloppy oversight is concerning because it may portend future sloppiness that may be more consequential.

Boatnmaniac

Yes, the deletion of the targets should not have happened.  For me, I've kept the targets in Quicken identical to the targets I'd set at Fidelity so I was able to easily retrieve them and enter them back into Quicken.

But quite frankly I think too many people try to micromanage to the targets.  Allocation targets were never intended to be very granular...they are goals that are intended to help meet investment performance and risk management objectives.  I've followed the advice of Fidelity and Financial Engines and set my targets to the nearest 5%.  Then I consider everything to be on track with no needed allocation changes if the actuals are within +/-5 percentage points of the targets.  It's only when the actuals fall outside of that +/-5 percentage points range that I consider making changes to how my investments are allocated. 

For me the issue is not so much that the targets were deleted, it's that with the implementation of these custom asset classes the allocations tool lost it's ability to establish investment risk and performance projections (at least if you customize any asset classes) because none of the custom asset classes are linked to any investment standards.  And that gives me some heartburn which now requires me to disregard the allocations tool in Quicken and use the one in my online account at Fidelity.

LexLuther

@Boatnmaniac said:
> Yes, the deletion of the targets should not have happened. 

That you are with me on the deletion issue (and the other impact of the flawed custom class implementation) leads me to take your post as well intentioned. I will say, though, that I don't need a clinic on asset allocation theory.

I do data analytics on performance relative to asset allocation, etc. and having the actual numbers I was using is important. I don't want to be reduced to "this is what I think it was". Shame on Quicken for not acknowledging this problem, and for not taking steps to warn the user to capture this data before upgrading. At the very least, they should publish steps that one can take to run a pre-R30 backup against a pre-R30 version of Quicken just to capture this information again.

Jim_Harman

Not sure if this will help, but you can see your past actual asset allocation (but unfortunately not the targets) by running the Investing > Investment Asset Allocation report and setting the ending date as appropriate.

I was also surprised that my allocation targets were wiped out by the recent update. I was saved by the fact that I periodically print the Portfolio Rebalancer page, which provides a nice one-page investment and allocation summary, including the targets. 

Boatnmaniac

LexLuther said:

@Boatnmaniac said:
> Yes, the deletion of the targets should not have happened. 

That you are with me on the deletion issue (and the other impact of the flawed custom class implementation) leads me to take your post as well intentioned. I will say, though, that I don't need a clinic on asset allocation theory.

I do data analytics on performance relative to asset allocation, etc. and having the actual numbers I was using is important. I don't want to be reduced to "this is what I think it was". Shame on Quicken for not acknowledging this problem, and for not taking steps to warn the user to capture this data before upgrading. At the very least, they should publish steps that one can take to run a pre-R30 backup against a pre-R30 version of Quicken just to capture this information again.

Everything I post in this forum is well intentioned.  Don't try reading so much between the lines.  I did not lecture you on asset allocation theory.  If I had done that I would have specifically mentioned you.  It was just a general comment about how "too many people" use allocation targets incorrectly...not directed toward you at all.

LexLuther

Interesting observation to report: Taking a copy of my current database, I brought it up under Quicken R26.21 that I had managed to restore on another PC. The target observations were there. My expectation was that I'd have to bring up a pre R30 database to see what they were before being lost, but that was not the case. That means the data for your targets is still in the database; it is just not displaying them. Which means that Quicken could (and should) fix this (but not for me; I've got what I need now).

Side note to newbies: It is generally unwise to open your current database file with a down level. However, I was working with a copy which was disposable after I got the info I needed from it.

awroberts

Seems that the original question has not been answered. I'm also seeing several empty Asset Classes (Custom1, Custom2, etc.) on my Investment Portfolio view. Each day seems to bring a new custom class into the view. I'd love to know how to either delete these or suppress them in the view.

awroberts

I now have 7 of the new Custom Asset Classes on my Investment Portfolio view and cannot find a way to hide them or delete them altogether. Not critical, but fairly annoying. Any advice much appreciated!

awroberts

Answered my own question, in a way. If you change the Group By setting and then change it back to Asset Class the Customx classes disappear.