When adding a placeholder epic into the hierarchy, I can only link it to an existing epic

[Sarah Kegley]

I'm trying to add an epic that is not "living" in Jira. I found documentation indicating I can add a placeholder epic in Portfolio. My hierarchy is: stories roll up to epics which roll up to tactics which roll up to initiatives. When I go to create a new epic, I get a drop-down menu of existing epics to chose from and no opportunity to add a net-new one that I can then associate to an existing tactic. 

I want to create this new epic because I have a number of stand-alone work items that are not tied to a project, but are in a KanBan board (currently living in unassigned status). I need a placeholder epic in Portfolio for easy viewing and reporting. 

Hoping this makes sense; I'm new to Portfolio.