To understand things better I’m building my own portfolio tracking and watch list spreadsheet in Google Sheets. I’d like to ask what kind of information is useful to have on the spreadsheet to determine portfolio performance and to support portfolio management decisions (like selling, buying, etc).
Perhaps, you’ve been using some portfolio tracking tools already: what are the useful metrics that they have and any missing functionality that you’d like to have?
I’m unable to answer your question directly - as like you I’m new to investing, but I can recommend a really good platform that will point you in the right direction, and help you on your way with investing…
It’s called TipRanks and it can be run online and sinks to your phone app too, you can build your portfolio - Add your share amounts etc and the platform will tell you your % earnings. I’m finding the free version very helpful.
I think this depends on what you hold and whether you’re trading or investing. There’s a whole bunch of stuff you could track with individual shares which is partly why I prefer collective investments.
The main thing I track is my allocations to different asset classes, management groups, investing styles, countries, regions, industries, sectors and so on, in an effort to manage risk.
For example, I like to limit my exposure to emerging markets, small caps and private equity. And I also try to have at least 1-2% and no more than 10-15% in any one investment.
Rebalancing is often my main consideration when buying or selling.
Other things I’ll glance at when topping up, but don’t necessarily track, include discount to NAV, price, marketcap, charges, long-term record, yield, Z-score, debt, latest reports and announcements.
Somewhat strangely, one thing I hardly track is performance aside from the odd look in the app. My logic is that I’ve got a long-term plan, so I don’t want to be swayed too much by short-term thinking.