Run your first forecast

This quickstart walks you from an empty setup deck to a complete dividend income projection. You choose where the holdings come from, set a time horizon and a few settings, then run the forecast and read the results. The Dividend Forecaster is available on Pro Lite and Pro.

Before you begin

• Sign in with a Pro Lite or Pro account. Free accounts see an upgrade prompt for this tool.
• Decide what you want to forecast. To use a saved portfolio or combined portfolios, build at least one portfolio first. To forecast a custom list, have your tickers and share counts ready.
• Note that each plan has a monthly run cap. The setup panel shows how many forecasts you have left this period where a cap applies.

Steps

1. 1

   Open the Dividend Forecaster

   Open the Dividend Forecaster from the Tools menu.

2. 2

   Choose what you are forecasting

   In Step 1, set the input source: an existing portfolio, combined portfolios, a model portfolio, or a custom selection of tickers.

3. 3

   Make your pick

   In Step 2, complete the source. For a portfolio or model, select it from the dropdown. For combined, check the portfolios to merge. For custom, search for tickers and set the number of shares for each. The tool loads the dividend-paying holdings and shows your current annual income.

4. 4

   Set the horizon and settings

   In Step 3, set the time horizon (the default is 10 years), confirm the reinvestment toggle (on by default), set your tax rate (the default is 15 percent), and choose the probabilistic or deterministic mode (probabilistic is on by default).

5. 5

   Name the run

   Optional: give the run a name so you can find it later in history. The field defaults to a label with today's date.

6. 6

   Calculate the forecast

   Select Calculate forecast in the right-hand panel. A probabilistic run shows a live progress readout while it computes. A deterministic run returns almost immediately.

7. 7

   Read the results

   Review the income summary, the charts, the per-stock breakdown, the monthly schedule, the safety analysis, and the payment calendar. Select Back to setup to change inputs and run again.

What's next

What's next

• Inputs and settingsEvery control on the setup deck, with accepted values and defaults
• Charts and graphsHow to read the monthly and annual income charts
• Results and metricsThe income summary, tables, safety read, and calendar
• Open the Dividend Forecaster