Real-Time Analytics: What the Numbers Mean

Total Value

The current market value of all positions in your portfolio, updated in real-time during market hours. This includes stocks, ETFs, and any cash holdings.

Why it matters: This is your bottom line—the total worth of your investments at this moment. Watch it grow over time as your positions appreciate.

Total Return

Your overall gain or loss, shown as both a dollar amount and a percentage. This accounts for all deposits, withdrawals, and market movements since you started tracking.

Formula: ((Current Value - Total Invested) / Total Invested) × 100

Example: If you invested $10,000 and your portfolio is now worth $11,500, your total return is +$1,500 or +15%. For a full breakdown of the math, see our guide on how to calculate portfolio returns.

Daily Change

How much your portfolio's value has changed since the market opened today. During trading hours, this updates every few seconds.

Tip: Don't obsess over daily changes. Markets are volatile, and a single day rarely tells the full story. Focus on longer-term trends instead.

Sharpe Ratio

The gold standard of risk-adjusted return metrics, developed by Nobel laureate William F. Sharpe in 1966. It measures how much excess return you're getting for each unit of risk taken. Higher is better.

Formula: (Portfolio Return - Risk-Free Rate) / Portfolio Volatility

Volatility

A measure of how much your portfolio's value fluctuates over time. It's calculated as the standard deviation of your daily returns, typically annualized. This concept was formalized in Harry Markowitz's 1952 Portfolio Selection paper, which laid the foundation for Modern Portfolio Theory.

What it means: A volatility of 15% means your portfolio is expected to move within a range of roughly ±15% from its average over a year (about 68% of the time).

Maximum Drawdown

The largest peak-to-trough decline your portfolio has experienced. This critical risk metric tells you the worst-case scenario you've actually lived through.

Example: If your portfolio peaked at $15,000, then dropped to $12,000 before recovering, your max drawdown is -20%.

Why it matters: This metric helps you understand your emotional tolerance for losses. Behavioral finance research shows investors often make poor decisions during drawdowns. Can you stomach a 30% drawdown without panic-selling? If not, you might need a more conservative portfolio.

Win Rate

The percentage of your closed positions that ended profitably. A position is counted as a “win” if you sold it for more than you paid.

Important context: Win rate alone doesn't determine success. Research on trading performance shows you could have a 90% win rate but still lose money if your few losses are much larger than your wins. The size of wins vs. losses matters more.

Typical range: Most successful investors have win rates between 40-60%. Even legendary investors don't win on every trade.

Average Gain / Average Loss

The average percentage gain on winning trades and the average percentage loss on losing trades.

What to look for: Ideally, your average gain should be larger than your average loss. This means you're letting winners run and cutting losers short.

Profit factor: Average Gain ÷ Average Loss gives you the profit factor. A ratio above 1.5 suggests a solid edge.

Cost Basis & Current Value

Your cost basis is the total amount you paid for shares (including any additional purchases). Current value is what those shares are worth right now.

Note: If you've bought the same stock multiple times at different prices, your cost basis reflects the average price you paid per share multiplied by your total shares.

Gain/Loss (Unrealized)

The difference between your cost basis and current value. It's “unrealized” because you haven't sold yet—it could change before you lock in the gain or loss.

Tax implications: Unrealized gains aren't taxed until you sell. This is why some investors prefer to hold winning positions for over a year to qualify for lower long-term capital gains rates.

Weight / Allocation

The percentage of your total portfolio value that each position represents. Helps you understand concentration risk.

Rule of thumb: Portfolio diversification theory suggests no single position should exceed 5-10% of your portfolio. Our AI will flag when positions become overweight and may suggest rebalancing.