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I want to calculate a couple of metrics for portfolio. However, only examples I can find over the internet do not cover portfolio rebalances. Suppose the following scenario:

  1. Jan 1st, buy portfolio for $10,000. Current portfolio value is $10,000
  2. Mar 1st, invest additional $5,000 to the same portfolio (e.g. buy more stocks). Current portfolio value is X + $5,000, where X is a changed value of previously bought actives
  3. Apr 1st, Rebalance portfolio (e.g. sell some stocks, buy other). Current portfolio value is Y

How should YTD return be evaluated at each of these time points? What about other metrics for portfolio performance?

Thanks in advance

Rahul
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1 Answers1

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The simplest method is to calculate the return from Jan 1 to Mar 1 (before the investment), then the gain from Mar 1 to Apr 1 (including the investment) and compounding them. This is called time-weighted return.

Say the initial balance on Jan 1 was $10,000. On Mar 1 the balance (before the investment) was $11,000. your gain for that period is thus 10% (11/10 - 1) You then added $5,000 for a new balance of $16,000. On April 1 the portfolio balance went down to $14,000 for a loss of 12.5% (14/16 - 1). Your total YTD return is then (1.1 * 0.875) - 1 = -3.75%.

D Stanley
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