Sample of a software product learners guide for a half day course on improving proficiency with using the advanced features of the product.

1. Participant Guide
Page 1 of 8
NAME OF PRODUCT
SCREENER
NAME OF AUTHOR
Dept Name
Date
Contact details

2. Participant Guide
Page 2 of 8
Table of Contents
Table of Contents........................................................................... 2
The PRODUCT .............................................................................. 3
Components of a Screen................................................................ 4
Searching for Variables.................................................................. 5
Features of the PRODUCT ............................................................ 6
Working with Screens...................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Client Case Studies........................................................................ 7
Customer Requested Screens ....................................................... 8

3. Participant Guide
Page 3 of 8
The PRODUCT
Alex is always looking for investment opportunities based upon certain criteria.
He’ll typically look for securities that meet his specific requirements and are
therefore good candidates to promote.
To create a screen, the user must specify one or more ___________________
that are used to ‘test’ the securities that are applied to it. “expressions”
Each expression will return a ____________ or ____________ value when a
security is evaluated against it. True or False
If the expression returns true, the security is included in the ‘screened’ list, if it
returns false, it is excluded.
The criteria used can include anything from an EV/EBITDA ratio to the country or
region a company is based in.
What is the PRODUCT?
How can I use it to help me
with my work?

4. Participant Guide
Page 4 of 8
Components of a Screen
Define each of the following components of a Screen;
EXPRESSION -
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
An expressions is one or more logical formulas that return a true or false result when
applied to the companies in a universe of symbols
OPERATOR
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
The arithmatic or logical functions of the expression. ( ) + - / * AND OR…
VARIABLE-
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
The data points to which the operators are applied (P/E, EBITDA, PRICE ….)
How many ways are there to search for a Variable? Explain;
Variables can be searched in 2 ways. First by searching for the Name of the
vailable in the Enter Variable Filter. Second is to expand each Variable
section until the variable that is needed is found. NOTE - The variables are
grouped into folders of similar data

5. Participant Guide
Page 5 of 8
Searching for Variables
In order to create the P/E ratio screen, you will need to find the variable “P/E Ratio”. The
PRODUCT allows you to filter or search the list of available variables for “P/E Ratio”:via
the variable filter:
Enter the words “Price and Earnings ratio” in the Variable Filter text box and press the
Filter button. Did the Price and Earnings Ratio search work? If not then try words like
“PE”, “Price” etc. What search works?
Best to try P/E and drill down to ratios.
Select the variable “Price to Earnings Ratio, Excluding Extraordinary Items.” Now you
will have to specify your criteria, in this instance use the last 12 months (LTM) and click
as illustrated:
Explian the “Specify Criteria” function. Will the options available in this function be the
same for all variables?
 Specify Criteria is used to further define each variable used in the expression. The
criteria will be different for the type of data point selected in the Variable Filter. A
good example is to view the criteria for Country and P/E and compare the Specify
Criteria section for each one.

6. Participant Guide
Page 6 of 8
Features of the Product
One of the more powerful features of the PRODUCT is the ability to create your own
variables that you can then use within expressions and reports.
To improve the workflow for the users, Reuters Services Menu – Quick Access to Most
Recently Used Screens, Portfolios and Advanced Searches.
Clicking on the Reuters Services Menu will now allow users to directly select (run)
screens, portfolios and Advanced Research Searches.
This feature works on a “Most Recently Used” basis rather than listing all available
Screens, Portfolios and Searches. This approach has been taken in order to avoid
deterioration in site performance as the requests to the back end services to request
(and then display) all available screens, portfolios and reports is “costly”.
Users have the option to define, via Preferences (see bottom section of the
General Tab), the number of Most Recently Used Items to display in this menu and
indeed the feature can be switched off by the user in order to alleviate performance-
related issues.

7. Participant Guide
Page 7 of 8
Client Case Studies
Following the descriptions provided create the Screens detailed below -
Value Screen
Value investing is one of the best known stock picking methods. Famous value investors
include Warren Buffet.
The value investor looks for stocks with strong fundamentals including earnings,
dividends, book value and cash flow that are selling at a bargain prices.
The value investor seeks companies that seem to be incorrectly valued (undervalued) by
the market and therefore has the potential to increase in share price when the market
corrects its error in valuation.
Expressions
Description Formula PRODUCT Expression
Stock price should be no
more than tangible book value
Price to Book Ratio < 1 {Pr2TanBkQ} < 1
There should be no more debt
than equity
Debt to Equity Ratio <= 1 {DbtTot2EqQ} <= 1
Current assets should be two
times current liabilities.
(Current Assets * 2) < current
liabilities
({TotCurA_RQ} ) <
{TotCurLiab_RQ}
Dividend yield should be at
least 2/3 the long-term AAA
bond yield.
Dividend yield > 2/3 of the
AAA long government bond
(currently yields about 4.3).
{Yield} > 3.78
Growth Screen
Unlike value investors who are interested in the here and now; growth investors are
concerned with the future potential of a company, with much less emphasis on the
present value. Growth investors like young companies.
The theory is that growth in earnings and/or revenues will directly translate into an
increase in the stock price. Growth stocks are primarily found in industries that are
expanding rapidly. Growth companies rarely pay dividends but instead reinvest their
earnings to promote further growth.
Expressions
Description Formula PRODUCT Expression
Industry in growth area – for
example, communications or
genetic research.
Industry in communications
or biotechnology
Is In Set( {IndCode},
[COMEQP,BIOTRX] )
3 year EPS growth rate >
200%
EPS Growth Rate > 200 {EPS3YCGr%} > 200
Return on Equity should be
increasing
Annual ROE should be better
than prior 12 month ROE
{ROE%TTM} >
{ROE%PTM}

8. Participant Guide
Page 8 of 8
Customer Requested Screens
Following the descriptions provided create the Screens detailed below – these
screens have been requested by customers in the past.
Technology Bargains
Just about everybody has an opinion on areas such as technology. Many are obsessed with it.
Others avoid it. This screen is for those who are attracted by the prospect of powerful growth
(as new technologies come into being and gain widespread acceptance), but want to stay clear
of the riskiest stocks in this group.
The screen uses the following tests.
 The stocks must be in the technology sector.
 The Price/Earnings-to-Growth (PEG) ratio must be less than or equal to 2.00.
 Share purchases by corporate insiders, net of sales, must be greater than or equal to
zero.
 The company must have achieved a positive rate of year-to-year EPS growth in the
latest quarter and in the trailing 12 month period.
 The stock must have coverage by more than one analyst, and the average
recommendation score must be less than or equal to 2.5 (1.00 = best, 5.00 = worst).
01 Select Company List US Companies
02 Is In Set({IndDescr},[BIOTRX,COMSRV,CMPSRV])
03 {FY1PE_M}/{LTG_CM}<=2
04 {InsNetTrans}>=0
05 {EPS%ChgTTM}>0.AND.{EPS%ChgPYQ}>0
06 {FY1EPS#An_C}>1.AND.{ConsRec_C}<=2.5
Dividend Payers
It's seems so easy to find income stocks. Just sort by yield, from highest to lowest. But that's
not necessarily the best way to go. We need to determine whether companies can afford to
continue paying dividends and maintain a respectable pace of dividend growth in the future.
This screen addresses such quality issues by checking to see that historic dividend growth has
not significantly outstripped EPS growth, that the payout ratio is at least tolerable, and that
the company's recent capital spending has been reasonable (thereby diminishing the
probability of pent-up future cash needs).
The screen uses the following tests.
 The current dividend yield is at least two percent.
 Over the past three years, dividends grew at an annual rate of at least three percent
and at a rate that is no higher than 15 percent above the three-year EPS growth rate.
 The trailing 12 month payout ratio is no greater than 95 percent.
 Over the past five years, the rate of capital spending growth was no less than 85
percent of the five-year rate of sales growth.
01 Select Company List US Companies
02 {Yield}>=2
03 {Div3YCGr%}>=3.AND.({Div3YCGr%}<={EPS3YCGr%}*1.15) 04
{PayRatioTTM}<=95 05 {CapSp5YCGr%}>({Sales5YCGr%}*.85)