What is a stock portfolio tracker?

A portfolio tracker is an online tool that takes the place of manual spreadsheets and paper statements by giving investors up-to-the-minute information on all of the investments that make up their portfolio.

Aside from being able to perform investment tracking in one place at any time, one of the key benefits of a portfolio tracker is to monitor asset allocation. Even experienced investors can get into a set-it-and-forget-it mindset when it comes to their portfolio. However, when the stock market goes through a period of volatility – as it frequently does – it doesn't take much for a portfolio to get out of balance. A portfolio tracker keeps a running track of all the investments that an investor has in their portfolio, making it easy to see when it’s time to rebalance your portfolio. Remember, asset allocation is not only about keeping your portfolio divided among equities, bonds, and cash. It also means being diversified within each asset class. This means that if one of your individual stock holdings is taking up a disproportionate amount of your portfolio, it may be time for some rebalancing by taking some profit and buying another stock that is either on your watch list or already in your portfolio but underweighted.

Another benefit to online portfolio tracking is that for some, the tracking software will automatically calculate dividends and stock splits and include them in your portfolio’s total return calculations.

Yet another benefit of having an online stock portfolio tracker is that most are supported by a mobile app that is available for iOS and Android devices. This means that investors will always have the ability to monitor and analyze their investments.

The answer is really two sides of the same coin. On the one hand, having the ability to monitor your investments on a daily, even hourly, the basis is empowering. The bad part is it can lead to investors making emotional decisions. Emotion is the enemy of every good investment strategy. The market has bad days and experienced investors know the key to weathering the storms is to have a plan and stick to that plan. Making trades too frequently is rarely part of a solid investment plan unless you are a day trader.

On the other hand, access to too much information can lead to analysis paralysis. We simply become overwhelmed by the amount of data there is to absorb and it prevents us from taking any action. However, there are times when we have to realize when to cut our losses and other times when technical indicators tell us that it’s time to take some profit – even if we may have to leave some money on the table.

For many years, the Google Finance Portfolio tracker was considered the gold standard among free online portfolio trackers. However, while investors can still access the Portfolio tool as part of a paid service, Google has removed the Portfolio feature from their free service offering. Google still offers a way to track your portfolio through its Google Finance tool, but the offering is not as robust as their previous tool. 

When choosing a stock portfolio tracker, investors should consider convenience. Most stock trackers have very similar features. After all, the tracking software that drives the back end of a stock portfolio tracker does not allow for many variations. Most of the differences between the trackers are reflected in the user interface (UI) which can be a matter of investor preference (i.e. how do they prefer to view the information).

For many investors, a user experience means that the site offers them a customized, almost curated experience for their holdings – as well as for investments they have on their watch list. 

MarketBeat offers a robust stock portfolio tracker where users can add any assets (including stocks on their watch lists). Subscribers to the free service can only add up to five holdings. However, MarketBeat Daily Premium and MarketBeat All-Access subscribers can add unlimited holdings. Whether subscribers use the free or paid service, they have a one-stop source for monitoring their portfolio including the latest headline news, a calendar of events relative to the stocks or funds they hold, the latest analyst ratings and insider trades, earnings information, SEC filings, and any relevant social media posts.

The MarketBeat interface is intuitive and easy to use. Once investors are logged in, it’s easy to add or remove holdings and a menu of tabs directs investors to the exact information they are looking for.

And while many portfolio trackers have come on the scene in recent years, Yahoo Finance is still one of the “old school” trackers that are preferred by some investors. With their MyPortfolio tool, investors can link their account from different brokerage firms and, like Google, many investors already have a Yahoo account and can use the same login information for their portfolio as they do for their fantasy football league.

Other free trackers that receive positive reviews include Sharesight and Personal Capital. The question for many investors will come down to what they want to get from their portfolio tracker. In some cases, less is more, particularly for investors who tend to react emotionally to the ups and downs of the stock market.

Even the best stock portfolio tracker is not a substitute for a knowledgeable financial advisor. Many portfolio trackers provide some advisory services – usually for a fee – however, investment management can be complicated and knowing how your stock portfolio fits into your overall wealth management goals is where a financial advisor comes into play. A portfolio tracker can feed into an investing mindset in which investors become “prisoners of the moment”. Having an experienced professional to serve as your portfolio manager can provide the necessary checks and balances that keep you on track for your financial goals. Remember, even the best stock portfolio tracker is an agnostic snapshot of what has already taken place. It’s up to you, as an investor, to assign a meaning to what has happened.