---
title: "Fin suggestions"
description: "A Fin suggestion is an alternative filter set Fin proposes for a screener, shown beside your own with each filter tagged Kept, Added, Modified, or Removed."
canonical_url: "https://fincanva.com/docs/screeners/fin-suggestions"
last_updated: "2026-09-04"
md_url: "https://fincanva.com/docs/screeners/fin-suggestions.md"
---

# Fin suggestions

A Fin suggestion is an alternative filter set that [Fin](/docs/getting-started/fin) proposes for a [screener](/docs/getting-started/screener), presented beside your current one so you can compare the two before anything changes. Fin either improves the filters you already have or builds a set from your [universe](/docs/getting-started/universe) when you have none, and it reports the result qualitatively — for example that it found a better-performing variant, or that it could not improve on what you have. Every [filter](/docs/getting-started/filter) in the comparison is tagged **Kept**, **Added**, **Modified**, or **Removed**, and your screener is untouched until you explicitly accept the suggestion.

**Also seen as:** Improve filters, Suggest new filters (the two actions that start a suggestion).

## What Fin can suggest

Two actions start a suggestion, both on the **Backtest** sub-view:

- **Improve filters** — Fin starts from the filters you already have and looks for a better-performing variant of them. It needs at least one filter; without one it is disabled with the hint "Add at least one filter first — there's nothing to improve yet."
- **Suggest new filters** — Fin starts from your universe with no filters and proposes a set from scratch. This one is always available.

While it works, the dialog shows Fin's progress and the line "Fin is testing thousands of filter combinations against market history to find a stronger setup." **Cancel** closes the dialog and abandons the suggestion.

## How to read the Kept / Added / Modified / Removed tags

The review shows two columns — **Your screener** and **Fin's suggestion** — each listing its own filters in its own order, with a tag on every line that changed:

| Tag | Where it appears | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Kept | both columns | the filter is identical on both sides — Fin left it exactly as it was (no badge is drawn, since nothing changed) |
| Modified | both columns | the same filter, with different settings — compare the two lines to see what moved |
| Added | Fin's suggestion | a filter that is not in your screener at all |
| Removed | Your screener | a filter Fin dropped, marked in the destructive (red) style |

Read the columns as two complete filter sets rather than as paired rows: a screener can hold the same filter twice, so the lists are deliberately not joined line by line. See [filter condition anatomy](/docs/screeners/filter-condition-anatomy) for the parts of a filter a **Modified** tag can refer to.

## What your three choices are

Nothing is applied automatically. The review offers:

- **Discard** — close and keep your screener exactly as it was.
- **Save as new screener** — keep your current screener and store the suggestion as a separate one.
- **Use these filters** — load the suggested filters into the editor as **unsaved** changes and immediately re-run the backtest on them, so you see the suggestion's own result before deciding whether to save it.

## What happens when Fin finds nothing better

When Fin cannot beat the screener you already have, the dialog says so plainly — "This is already a strong screener" and "Fin tested thousands of filter combinations against market history and couldn't improve on it." — and offers only **Close**. There is no comparison and no figure in that case, deliberately: there is no change to review. If the search itself breaks, you get "Fin couldn't finish" and "The search couldn't complete. Your screener is unchanged — try again."

## Defaults in Fincanva

- **The Free plan includes 3 suggestions a month**, a count that refills at the start of the next month rather than running out for good. Starter, Advanced, Ultimate and Professional carry no monthly limit. See [what each plan includes](/docs/account-security/what-each-plan-includes).
- A suggestion changes **only the filters**. It never changes the screener's [universe facets](/docs/screeners/universe-facets) — the universe you set is the universe Fin works inside.
- Fin is the only name for the assistant in Fincanva; a suggestion is Fin's output, not a separate product.
- Your screener is never modified in place by a suggestion: **Use these filters** stages the change as unsaved, so you can still leave without saving.
- A suggestion is a **backtested variant**, and the dialog says so: "Backtested result — past performance doesn't guarantee future returns."
- Each launch starts a fresh search, so re-running **Improve filters** on the same screener can return a different suggestion.

## Worked example

Your screener holds `P/E < 20`, `Sector = Technology`, and `Market cap > $10B`. You press **Improve filters**. Fin works, then reports that it found a better-performing variant. In the comparison, `Sector = Technology` is **Kept** on both sides; `P/E < 20` appears as **Modified** — Fin's column shows a different threshold; `Market cap > $10B` is tagged **Removed** in your column and does not appear in Fin's; and a filter you did not have appears as **Added** in Fin's column. You now have three honest options: **Discard** and keep your three filters, **Save as new screener** to compare both over time, or **Use these filters** to try Fin's set as unsaved changes with a fresh backtest attached.

*A suggestion describes what a filter set would have done on historical data. It is not a recommendation, and Fincanva provides no financial advice — see [Is this financial advice?](/docs/investing-theory/is-this-financial-advice).*