Abstract: A method of automatically selecting a securities portfolio from a plurality of securities includes selecting investment characteristics and investment limits considered important for investment objectives; selecting a safety level for the portfolio; constructing a matrix having entries corresponding to (a) the selected characteristics and limits, and (b) the candidate securities; establishing an objective function corresponding to the constructed matrix; and determining the securities portfolio based on the matrix and the objective function. The investment characteristics may include dividends, rate of growth of earnings, financial strength, safety, predictability of earnings, and performance rankings provided by an advisory service. The safety level may be provided as a number of stocks to include in the portfolio. The selected investment limits may relate to limitations on the amount of investment in each candidate security.