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CollabInvest is a social networking site for investors. As such it faces the same kinds of challenges that sites such as Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter face. Here we have the added complexity of that conversations about investing and trading are very data heavy. To have meaningful conversations, we need to be able to conveniently express complex concepts involving such "words" as charts, trends, indicators, alerts, watch lists, stock picks, and tickers and do so in a way that's natural and effective. I want to do more than just show you a chart. I want to be able to send it to you as just another "word" in a sentence. I want you to be able to "speak" that chart back to me. I want to be able to do the same with all other other "words" involved in investing. 

A friend pointed me to this thought provoking article: Social Software the Other Design for Social Impact .

Our goal with CollabInvest is to create a convenient and effective environment for having investment and trading related conversations.

We have learned that Microsoft is retiring their MSN Money Stock Portfolio on November 1st. It appears they are doing this without providing a transition path to other products. 

After some experimentation, I've come up with a recipe for converting the Microsoft MSN Money .MBF format into Quicken .QIF format which can then be imported, transaction history and all, into Personal Stock Monitor. PSM has a free 30 day trial.

Here are the steps:

1. log into your MSN Money Portfolio Manager account. For my tests, i used the Investment Toolbox Portfolio Manager.
2. Select the Other Tasks -> More -> Files Options -> Backup .. menu option.
3. Browse for a folder that you can find again and save out your MBF Money Backup file.
4. In order to convert the .MBF file to a .QIF file you need to download and install a free trial version of Microsoft Money Deluxe.  The download is available directly from the Microsoft downloads site. Click here to get a free copy.
   
   
5. Once you have downloaded and installed Microsoft Money and gone through the setup wizard, select the File -> Restore Backup menu option.
6. Select Restore from a backup file.
7. Select Let me browse for a different backup file.
8. Browse and select the .MBF backup file you created in step 3 above.
9. Click the Restore button when the dialog appears.
   
   
10. You will need to enter your MSN login id and password in order to open the backup file.
11. Once the file is imported select File -> Export.
12. Select Loose QIF.
13. Browse for a location to save the QIF file.
14. Select Investment.
    
    
15. Select the accounts you would like to export and click export.
    
16. Close MSN Money.
17. Download and install Personal Stock Monitor GOLD. 30 Day Free trial available.
    
18. Start Personal Stock Monitor GOLD.
    
    
19. Create a new blank account tab by selecting Account -> Create New Account Tab.
20. Name your new account tab.
21. The new account tab will appear at the bottom. Select it.
    
22. Select File -> Import.
    
    
23. Browse to select the QIF file you saved in step 15 above.
24. Select QIF Files.
25. Click open.
26. Click Yes to All to avoid having to add each ticker individually.
    
    
27. It will ask you where to put the tickers. Just accept the default location. Some tickers may not have a symbol in your backup file. Use the binoculars icon to look up the ticker symbol.
    

Once you have completed these steps all of your positions and transactions will be imported and useable from within Personal Stock Monitor.

To see your transaction history select the Transactions tab.

To see your current positions select the Current Holdings tab.

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