Contents of this article:
- What is a Manual Portfolio
- Understanding Holdings vs. Transactions
- Creating Holdings Portfolio
- Creating Portfolio With Transactions
- Converting a Holdings Portfolio to a Transactions Portfolio
What is a Manual Portfolio
A manual portfolio is one where you enter all investment details by hand. This approach gives you full control but demands consistent effort to maintain accurate and up-to-date records.
Understanding Holdings vs. Transactions
Before creating your portfolio, it’s important to understand the difference between Holdings and Transactions types of portfolio:
-
Holdings: Holdings offers a snapshot of your current portfolio. By entering the average price of your shares and the number of shares you hold, you can easily see your unrealised gains. If you’re looking for a quick and simple setup, this tool is an excellent option for you.
- Transactions: Transactions include all buying and selling activities over time. This type of portfolio allows users to track every transaction and receive accurate analysis and detailed returns reports.
Visit our Getting Started article here to learn more about the differences and help you choose the best portfolio creation method.
Creating a Holdings Portfolio
- Make sure to be logged in first to your Simply Wall St Account
- Go to the Portfolios tab. Here, you will see the leading brokers in your country available for linking. To create a manual portfolio, just click the "create portfolio manually" button at the bottom.
- You will find two options: to add your (1) transaction and (2) holdings data. Simply click the second option, “Add Holdings”.
- Search your stock by typing the ticker or company name. Then, select from the search results accordingly. You can search and add multiple stocks before proceeding to the next step.
- Once you have added your stocks, just simply click on the Continue button found in the lower right corner of the modal.
- Input the number of shares and the average price. Once done, click the "Continue" button to save the changes.
Here's how it is in action (Desktop version):
Creating a Portfolio With Transactions
This type of portfolio is designed to allow you to monitor each transaction, whether it’s a purchase or sale, ensuring complete transparency and control. With this detailed tracking, users can receive a more accurate analysis of their portfolio’s performance, allowing investors to make well-informed decisions based on historical data and current trends.
There are two ways to enter transactions in a portfolio. Select from the options below to see more information:
A. Importing a file or Bulk-Adding Transactions
Manually adding each transaction to a stock portfolio can be time-consuming, especially if you have a large number of trades. By bulk-adding transactions, you can quickly import all your buy and sell activity, making it easy to set up or update your portfolio efficiently. This approach not only saves time but also ensures your portfolio includes every detail needed for accurate performance tracking and returns analysis.
We offer two options for bulk-adding transactions:
- Importing from a file (CSV, XLS, XLSX, and PDF)
- Copy-Pasting of data from a CSV or spreadsheet
For a detailed, step-by-step guides, see our full instructions here: How to Bulk Add Transactions to Create Your Stock Portfolio
B. Entering Transactions One-by-One
How to Enter Transactions One-by-One
This is ideal for a portfolio containing a few trades. If you prefer a detailed and hands-on approach to tracking your portfolio, please follow the instructions below on how to create a portfolio by entering transactions one by one:
- Make sure to be logged in first to your Simply Wall St Account
- Go to the Portfolios tab. Here, you will see the leading brokers in your country available for linking. To create a manual portfolio, just click the "create portfolio manually" button at the bottom.
- You will find two options: to add your (1) transaction and (2) holdings data. Simply click the second option, “Upload Trade History.”
- After selecting the button, a short guide will appear explaining the file requirements for importing. Just click “Add manually instead.”
- You’ll see a prompt with key tips for your transactions. Click “Read full documentation” if you’d like more details, then select “Continue.” This will take you to the Transactions Table, where you can begin entering your trades manually.
- Enter each transaction. For each trade you make, record it as a new row in the transactions sheet.
- Once done, click on the Save button.
Here's how it is in action (Desktop version):
How to Fill Out Each Column:
- Ticker: Search your stock by typing the ticker or company name. Then, select from the search results accordingly or just hit Enter on your keyboard.
- Transaction Type: Select from the dropdown if it’s a “Buy” or “Sell” transaction.
- Transaction Date: Add the exact date the transaction was executed. If you want to change the date format, just click the Change Format button.
- Shares: Indicate the number of shares involved in the transaction.
- Price: Record the price paid (or received) per share.
- Transaction Total: The system will automatically calculate the total based on the number of shares and price you entered.
If you’re using a mobile phone, you can only add one transaction at a time when creating a portfolio. If you need to add multiple transactions, switch to a desktop browser for full access.
Alternatively, on mobile, you may see a message at the bottom of the transaction entry page with a link that takes you to a table format, allowing you to add more transactions at once.
Converting a Holdings Portfolio to a Transactions Portfolio
A Holdings Portfolio shows what you currently own, but it does not include the buy and sell history needed to calculate detailed performance metrics. To unlock features such as the Detailed Returns Report, Full Equity Curve, and a complete breakdown of your returns, you'll need to convert your portfolio to a Transactions Portfolio by adding your trading history.
With transaction data, we can calculate and separate your realised, unrealised, dividend, currency, and annualised returns, giving you a much clearer view of how your portfolio has performed over time.
Ways to Convert Your Portfolio
Since the Value Over Time chart is only available on the Transactions portfolio, you'll see an option to upgrade your portfolio upon clicking this button on the chart.
Simply open your portfolio and select Edit Holdings button.
If you open the Detailed Returns Report and click the Limited Data button, you'll be prompted to convert your portfolio.
A new Transactions Portfolio will be created using your current holdings. We've automatically recorded these holdings as your initial "Buy" transactions. Review the entries, adjust the dates if necessary, and add any additional trades to complete your portfolio history. To edit your portfolio, please refer to this guide: Editing your Transactions Data
Still have questions or need further assistance?
Don't hesitate to contact our support team through our support contact form or email us directly at support@simplywallst.com. We're here to ensure you have the best experience possible.