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This Saturday in Personal Finance Focus

David Landis

Merrill Lynch launched the first of its Internet-focused HOLDRs last September, long before it had put together a Web site to explain them to investors.

So, by default, Dagen McDowell's Dear Dagen column and Tracy Byrnes' Tax Forum have been the place to go for investors needing to know everything from the holdings of these 20-stock, exchange-traded portfolios to the fine points of figuring out your cost basis for tax purposes.

Merrill recently launched its long-awaited HOLDRs Web site, complete with a cost-basis calculator for each of the 11 HOLDRs now trading. Byrnes took the calculator for a test-spin this week, and will have the results in Saturday's Tax Forum.

Also coming Saturday in Personal Finance Focus:

• Ian McDonald examines the top stock holdings of Putnam Investments, the nation's fourth-largest mutual fund company, in The Big Screen.

• Mark Ingebretsen shows where you can find the best amateur stock analysts on the Web in Tools of the Trade.

• Brian Louis deciphers options symbols in Options Forum.