The Primer playbook

Routines

Keep up with your companies and questions through useful recurring work.

Guide 01

What is a routine and when is it useful?

A routine is an automated recurring research task. Give Primer the task once, then choose when it should run.

Scheduled
Run at fixed times: daily, weekly or monthly. You choose the days, time and time zone. Examples include a morning coverage update or a Friday review of your thesis.
Event-driven
Run when a matching company document becomes available in Primer. Choose coverage groups and the Filings or Calls to watch. This is useful for a first read after results or a review of a new call transcript. Event-driven setup appears where it is enabled for your workspace.

Do this

Choose a question you need answered repeatedly. Be specific about the companies and what you want to learn.
Choose Scheduled for a regular review. Choose Event-driven, where available, when a new filing or call should start the work.
Open Routines in the left-hand panel and click New routine. Review the setup before creating anything.

Routines selected in Primer’s left-hand panel, between Companies and Calendar — Click Routines in the left-hand panel, then choose New routine.

New routine with Scheduled selected and Use template in the top right — Choose Scheduled for a routine that runs at set times. Use template gives you a starting point.

Run on controls for Filings: Earnings and trading updates, and Calls: Earnings call transcripts — In an Event-driven routine, choose whether new filings, call transcripts or both should start the work.

Skill or routine?

“A skill stores how to do a task; you ask Primer to use it. A routine stores when to do a task and runs it automatically. A routine’s instructions can ask Primer to use a saved skill.”

Guide 02

Set up your first routine and check its first run

Start with one useful task. A template saves you writing the instructions from scratch, but you should still make them fit your work.

Do this

Open Routines → New routine and choose Scheduled. Click Use template in the top right, then choose a starting point.
Give it a clear title. Edit the instructions to name your companies, the period to review and the answer you want. Use @ mentions where helpful.
Set the frequency, days, time and time zone. Review the Email setting to choose how you want results delivered.
Click the arrow beside Create and choose Create & Run now to create it and test the task immediately. This starts a real research run.
Open the routine and its first run. Read the answer and sources, then edit the instructions if it is too broad or misses what matters.

Routine templates: Daily coverage brief, Earnings watch and Weekly read-across — Choose a template, then change its instructions and schedule to fit your work.

Try this

Paste this into the routine’s instructions and replace the brackets. Set its timing in the schedule controls.

“Review [companies or coverage group] for [research question]. Give a short conclusion, the important changes, source links with dates and any unanswered questions. Keep facts separate from interpretation. Say when no material change was found and identify anything you could not check.”

Guide 03

A morning update on your coverage

Get a short report before you start the day. Ask for changes that matter to your companies, with links so you can read further.

Do this

Create a Scheduled routine and choose the Daily coverage brief template.
Name Core Coverage or the exact companies you want it to cover. Say what matters to you, such as guidance, orders, pricing or financing.
Set the weekdays, morning time and your time zone. Choose whether you want email delivery.
Run it once and read the report. Narrow the scope or shorten the output if there is too much to read each morning.

Try this

Use these instructions for a scheduled morning routine.

“Write my morning update for [Core Coverage or companies]. Review the last 24 hours of available company news, filings and relevant peer updates. Prioritise changes to guidance, demand, pricing, margins and financing. For each important item, explain what changed, why it may matter and link to the dated source. Finish with upcoming results and questions worth following up. Keep it to [length] and say where coverage is incomplete.”

Guide 04

Angle finder: find new research ideas

Have Primer regularly look for a useful question to investigate across your coverage. An angle could be a change in demand, a risk to margins or a difference between companies that deserves a closer look.

Do this

Create a Scheduled routine called Angle finder. Choose the companies or coverage group you want it to research.
Ask it to start with the main investment debates in the latest Primer Reports, then check whether recent results, calls or news have changed them.
Ask it to rank the questions by how much they matter, whether there is room to learn something new and whether useful evidence is available. Have it investigate the strongest one.
Set a schedule that suits you, such as a weekly review. Read the first run to check that it produces a specific research idea with supporting evidence.

Try this

Use these instructions for an Angle finder routine.

“Find the strongest new research angle across [companies or coverage group]. Start with the main debates in the latest Primer Reports. Check whether recent results, calls or news have made them stale, and update them where needed. Rank the questions by importance to the investment case, scope to learn something new and availability of evidence. Choose the strongest question and investigate it using company documents, peer comparisons, financial analysis or public data where useful. Explain why you chose it, what you found, the evidence for and against it, and what to investigate next. Include dated source links. If there is no strong angle, say so.”

Explore a research angle in a session

Guide 05

A weekly review of changes to your thesis

Check whether new evidence supports or challenges your investment view. Give Primer your current thesis so it knows what to test.

Do this

Save an up-to-date thesis as a Note or in Company Memory. Keep its date and main assumptions clear.
Create a Scheduled routine for a weekly review. Name the companies and the thesis Note or context it should use.
Ask for evidence that challenges your view as well as evidence that supports it. Specify the last seven days as the review period.
Set the day and time. After the first run, check whether it used your current thesis and whether the evidence is new.

Try this

Use these instructions for a weekly routine. Name the saved thesis it should read.

“Review new evidence from the last seven days for @Company against my thesis in [Note title and date or Company Memory]. Organise the answer around my main assumptions. For each one, show evidence supporting it, evidence challenging it, source links and dates, and what remains unresolved. Do not rewrite my thesis or Company Memory. Finish with the three questions I should investigate next.”

Guide 06

Track a sector or theme

Follow the same question across a group of companies. For example, look for signs that demand is improving, customers are cutting stock or pricing is changing.

Do this

Choose a clear question and a manageable company list. Include the customers, suppliers or competitors that can provide useful evidence.
Create a Scheduled routine. The Weekly read-across template is a useful starting point for comparing company updates.
Tell Primer which measures to track and how to compare them. Ask it to explain differences in products, markets and reporting periods.
Set a weekly time, then review the first report. Remove companies that add little useful evidence and add ones that help answer the question.

Try this

Use these instructions for a weekly sector routine.

“Track [theme or question] across [companies] using evidence published in the last seven days. Focus on [measures]. Show company, reporting period, datapoint, source link and date. Explain where the evidence points in the same direction and where it differs. Consider business mix, customers and geography before drawing conclusions. Finish with what this might mean for [target company] and what needs further checking.”

Guide 07

Build evidence for a sector piece over time

Once you have a few possible themes, have Primer keep collecting evidence in one Note. This helps you decide which idea is worth developing into a sector piece.

Do this

Start a new session and ask Primer to create a Note called Sector Themes. Add the themes or questions you want to investigate and the companies that matter.
Create a Scheduled routine that reads this Note. Ask it to find company, industry and wider economic evidence for each theme.
Tell it to add dated findings and source links beneath the relevant theme in the same Note. Include evidence that challenges the idea and avoid repeating what is already there.
Set a weekly schedule. Review the first update and ask which theme has the strongest evidence, what is still missing and which one is ready for deeper work.

Try this

Use these instructions for a routine that builds on a saved Note.

“Read my Sector Themes Note and investigate its themes across [companies or coverage group]. Find useful company, industry and wider economic evidence for each theme. Add a dated update with findings and source links beneath the relevant theme in the same Note, preserving earlier work and avoiding duplicate evidence. Include evidence that challenges each idea. Rank the themes by the strength of the evidence and explain which would make the strongest sector piece, what could weaken that choice and what research is still needed.”

Build evidence for a sector piece

Guide 08

Prepare for upcoming results

Keep track of results coming up and decide where you need to prepare. This routine runs before the release rather than waiting for a new document.

Do this

Create a Scheduled routine using the Earnings watch template.
Name the companies or coverage group and say how far ahead to look, such as the next seven days.
Ask for event dates, available Previews, your key expectations and the preparation still needed. Name your saved expectations or thesis where relevant.
Set a useful daily or weekly time. Check the first report’s event dates and open the linked reports before using them.

Try this

Use these instructions for a scheduled results-preparation routine.

“Review upcoming results in the next seven days for [companies or Core Coverage]. Give the event date and source, links to available Primer Previews, the main questions to prepare and relevant context from [saved thesis or expectations]. Identify missing reports or expectations. Separate confirmed event dates from estimates. Keep preparation for upcoming events separate from results already released.”

Guide 09

Automatically review new results and calls

An Event-driven routine can run your first-read process when a new company filing or call transcript arrives in Primer. It helps you pick up important changes across your coverage without starting each review yourself.

Do this

Have a first-read skill ready. Use a skill you already have, or build one from examples of your own results notes.
Open Routines → New routine and choose Event-driven, where it is available in your workspace. Name it Coverage First Read and choose the coverage groups to watch.
Under Run on, choose Filings for earnings and trading updates, Calls for earnings call transcripts, or both.
In the instructions, name your first-read skill and ask Primer to apply it to the company document that triggered the run. Choose your delivery settings and create the routine.
After its first run, read the note and sources. Check that it used the right company and new document, and adjust the instructions if it missed anything important.

Event-driven routine Run on options for Filings and Calls — Choose which new documents should trigger the routine: earnings and trading updates, call transcripts or both.

Try this

Use these instructions for an Event-driven routine. Replace the skill name with your saved first-read skill.

“When a new filing or call transcript triggers this routine, use my [First Read skill name] to review it for the relevant company. Explain the important changes, how they compare with prior results and guidance, and what they mean for the investment thesis. Include source links and questions to investigate next. If the trigger is a call transcript, explain what it adds to the results release. Save the review as a dated Note.”

Build a skill for your first reads

Guide 10

Improve, pause or change a routine

A routine should earn its place in your day. Change it if the reports are repetitive, too long or no longer answer a useful question.

Do this

Open Routines and find the routine. Open recent runs to see what it actually produced.
Use Edit routine to change its instructions, scope or schedule, then Save. Give specific feedback about what to include or leave out.
Use Run now to test the change. Read the new report before leaving it to run regularly.
Use Pause to stop future automatic runs when you no longer need them. Use Resume when you want the routine active again.

Try this

Use this in a normal session to help rewrite the instructions, then copy the agreed text into Edit routine.

“Help me improve this routine. Here are its current instructions: [instructions]. Here is an example output: [output]. It is useful for [reason], but it [specific problem]. Draft clearer instructions that focus on [what matters], cover [scope and period] and produce [desired length and format]. Preserve useful source references and make missing information clear.”

Explore the other sections

Scheduled

Event-driven

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Skill or routine?

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