Quick Start Guide

Welcome to Income Investor! This guide will help you protect your dividend income in just 5 minutes.

Step 1: Score Your First Stock

Let's start by analyzing a dividend stock. Our rules-based scoring will give you a safety score from 0-100.

1. Go to your Dashboard
2. Look for the search box at the top
3. Type a ticker symbol (e.g., AAPL, JNJ, O)
4. Click "Score Stock" or press Enter

What you'll see:

• GREEN (85–100): Low risk
• YELLOW (65–84): Monitor
• ORANGE (40–64): Caution
• RED (0–39): High risk

Step 2: Add to Watchlist

Found a stock you want to track? Add it to your watchlist for ongoing monitoring.

1. After scoring a stock, click the "Add to Watchlist" button
2. The stock will appear in your Watchlist section
3. You'll receive alerts if its safety score drops

Your watchlist is visible on your dashboard sidebar. You can remove stocks anytime.

Step 3: Set Up Alerts

Alert emails are an Income Investor Pro feature. They tell you when a stock on your watchlist is downgraded or its score drops sharply, and when a company you hold cuts or suspends its dividend.

1. Go to Settings → Notifications
2. Switch on "Enable Email Alerts" (on the Free plan the switch is locked)
3. Pick the alert types you want: Rating Downgrades, Significant Score Drops (and how many points counts as significant, 10 by default), New Risk Flags, and Dividend Cut Alerts. Each one works on its own.
4. Choose how score alerts arrive: Individual emails, or one Daily Digest. Dividend cut alerts always arrive as their own email.
5. Click Save Preferences

Step 4: Import Your Portfolio (Optional)

Have a portfolio at Fidelity, Schwab, or another broker? Import it in seconds.

1. Go to Portfolio → Import CSV
2. Download your holdings as a CSV from your broker
3. Upload the CSV file to Income Investor
4. We'll automatically map your holdings and calculate portfolio risk

Supported brokers: Fidelity, Charles Schwab, E*TRADE, Vanguard, Interactive Brokers, and more.

→ See detailed CSV import guide

Step 5: Explore Advanced Features

Now that you're set up, explore these powerful features:

Dividend Cut-Risk Scoring

Our rules-based model scores dividend cut risk from named financial inputs — payout coverage, leverage, interest coverage, cash quality, cash buffer, and earnings trend — plus a credit and a growth check, with no black box.

• See cut-risk score (0-100)
• View top risk factors (e.g., high payout ratio, declining cash flow)

Portfolio Stress Testing (Pro)

Test your portfolio against 6 market scenarios:

• 2008-Style Recession
• Rising Interest Rates
• Energy Sector Crash
• Widespread Dividend Cuts
• High Inflation (5%+ CPI)
• Mild Market Correction

Tax Treatment Guidance

See which holdings belong in a taxable account vs. an IRA, based on their tax treatment:

• Qualified vs. ordinary dividends
• REIT tax treatment
• BDC and MLP considerations
• Account type recommendations (IRA vs. taxable)

Dividend History Data (Pro)

Access the 10-year dividend history chart:

• Dividend growth rate (CAGR)
• Consecutive years of increases
• Dividend cut detection

What's Next?

• Learn how safety scores are calculated
• Go to your Dashboard
• Upgrade to Income Investor Pro for 100 scores per day

Need help? Email us at support@income-investors.com