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Portfolio Performance Decoded: Stop Guessing, Start Knowing

Your returns are telling you a story, but are you listening? Learn which metrics actually matter and how Turbobulls helps you track them without the headache.
Portfolio Performance Decoded: Stop Guessing, Start Knowing
The Problem: Your portfolio says you're up 15%, but you added $10k last month. Are you actually crushing it, or just... adding money?
Let's be honest: most investors check their portfolio balance, see a green number, and feel like Warren Buffett. See red? Suddenly it's the market's fault.

But here's the thing, your account balance lies to you.

That +$5,000 could be incredible performance or just you depositing your paycheck. Without proper performance measurement, you're flying blind with a smile on your face. The good news? Once you understand a handful of key metrics, you'll know exactly how your investments are performing. No more confusion. No more wondering if you're actually good at this or just lucky. And even better news? Turbobulls does the heavy math for you. But understanding what's happening behind the scenes? That's what separates casual investors from confident ones.

What You'll Learn (Without the Boring Parts)

📊 The Metrics That Matter

Simple ROI, Money Weighted Returns, Realized vs Unrealized Returns, Open Win Rate, we'll cut through the jargon and show you which numbers to actually watch.

💰 What's Really Affecting Your Returns

Spoiler: it's not just whether stocks go up or down. Taxes, inflation, and timing play huge roles.

🎯 How to Use Turbobulls Like a Pro

We'll show you exactly where to look and what it all means for your actual wealth.

🚀 When to Worry (and When to Celebrate)

Learn to separate signal from noise and make decisions based on real performance, not emotions.
Fair warning: This guide has formulas. But don't panic, we explain them in plain English, and Turbobulls calculates everything automatically. Think of this as knowing how your car engine works even though you're not rebuilding it yourself.

Every metric in this guide is automatically calculated in Turbobulls. See how it works →

The One Thing You Need to Understand First

Before we dive into specific metrics, here's the core concept that changes everything:

Different questions require different metrics.

  • "How much did I make overall?" → Total Return
  • "How much have I actually locked in?" → Realized Return
  • "Am I timing my investments well?" → Money Weighted Return (MWR)
  • "What percentage of my trades are winners?" → Open Win Rate
  • "How are my holdings doing right now?" → Unrealized Return
There's no single "right" number. Each metric tells you something different. The trick is knowing which story you need to hear.
The Turbobulls Advantage: While other platforms give you one generic "performance" number, Turbobulls calculates all the metrics that matter. You get the complete picture, not just marketing fluff.

Simple ROI: Where Everyone Starts

Let's start with the basics because, frankly, this is what 90% of people mean when they say "how much did I make?"

The Formula (Don't Run Away)

Return = (What You Have Now - What You Started With) / What You Started With × 100%

Real Example (Because Math Needs Context)

You bought $5,000 of stocks. Now they're worth $6,250.

Return = ($6,250 - $5,000) / $5,000 × 100% = 25%

Congrats! You made 25%. 🎉

Plot twist: But when did you make it? Over 3 months? 3 years? This is where Simple ROI starts to break down...

When Simple ROI Actually Works

Perfect for:

  • Single one-time investments

  • No additional deposits or withdrawals

  • Short time periods (under a year)

  • Quick sanity checks

Terrible for:

  • Regular contributions (401k, monthly investing)

  • Comparing investments over different time periods

  • Anything involving complex cash flows

  • Actually understanding if you're a good investor

The "Aha!" Moment

Here's where it gets interesting. Two scenarios:

Investor A:

  • Puts in $10,000

  • One year later: $11,000

  • Simple ROI: 10%

Investor B:

  • Puts in $10,000

  • Adds $1,000 every month

  • One year later: $23,000

  • Simple ROI: 130% (!)

Investor B looks like a genius, right? Wrong. Most of that $23k came from contributions, not investment returns. This is why we need better tools.
In Turbobulls: The platform automatically detects your cash flows and picks the right calculation method. You'll see both your simple returns AND the more sophisticated metrics that account for your deposits.

When Your Portfolio Gets Complicated (Spoiler: Immediately)

Real life is messy. You don't just invest once and walk away. You:

  • Add money when you get paid

  • Withdraw for emergencies

  • Reinvest dividends

  • Maybe panic-sell and regret it later (we've all been there)

This is where things get spicy 🌶️

The Problem with Adding Money

Imagine you start with $10,000 and end the year with $16,000. Sounds like a 60% return!

But wait... you added $5,000 in June. So really:

  • Your investment grew from $10k → $11k (before the addition)

  • Then you added $5k

  • That combined $16k grew to... $16k

Your actual return? Maybe 10%. Way different from 60%.

Enter: Money Weighted Return (Your New Best Friend)

Money Weighted Return (also called IRR - Internal Rate of Return) is the superhero that saves the day. It asks: "What steady rate of return would create my ending balance, given all my deposits and withdrawals?"
The Beautiful Part: Turbobulls calculates this automatically. Every time you log a transaction, it updates your Money Weighted Return in real-time. You get accurate performance without doing any math.

A Story About Timing

Meet Sarah and Mike. Both start with $20,000 to invest over one year:

Sarah's Journey:

  • January: Invests $5,000 (market at $100/share = 50 shares)

  • Market drops 30% to $70/share

  • July: Invests $15,000 (at $70/share = 214 shares)

  • December: Market recovers to $100/share

  • Total shares: 264, worth $26,400

Mike's Journey:

  • January: Invests $15,000 (market at $100/share = 150 shares)

  • Market drops 30% to $70/share

  • July: Invests $5,000 (at $70/share = 71 shares)

  • December: Market recovers to $100/share

  • Total shares: 221, worth $22,100

Same market movement. Same total invested ($20,000). But:

  • Sarah's MWR: approximately +32% (she bought heavily at the dip)

  • Mike's MWR: approximately +11% (he invested heavily at the peak)

This is why MWR matters. It captures whether you're timing your investments well (or poorly). Sarah didn't have better stock picks, she had better timing.

Turbobulls Insight: Check your MWR vs the market's return. If your MWR is lower, you might be adding money at peaks. Higher? You're catching dips. This intel helps you refine your strategy.

Stop Calculating MWR Manually

Turbobulls computes your Money Weighted Return automatically with every transaction, accounting for all cash flows and timing. See your annualized MWR update in real-time.
See Your Dashboard

The Math Behind Money Weighted Return

Okay, for those who want to peek under the hood (you can skip this if formulas make you queasy):

MWR finds the rate that makes this equation true:

0 = Initial Investment + Cash Flow 1/(1+MWR)^t1 + Cash Flow 2/(1+MWR)^t2 + ... + Final Value/(1+MWR)^tn

Where:

  • Initial Investment is negative (money out)

  • Additional deposits are negative

  • Withdrawals are positive

  • Final value is positive

Translation: What interest rate would make all your money ins and outs balance out to your current portfolio value?

Don't worry, you'll never calculate this by hand. Even Excel struggles with it. This is why Turbobulls does it automatically.

Open Win Rate: Are You Picking Winners?

One of the most intuitive metrics Turbobulls provides is Open Win Rate, the percentage of your currently open positions that are profitable.

What It Tells You

Open Win Rate = (Number of Profitable Open Positions / Total Open Positions) × 100%

Example:

  • You have 20 open positions

  • 14 are currently showing gains

  • Your Open Win Rate: 70%

Why This Matters

While MWR tells you your overall performance and realized returns show what you've captured, Open Win Rate gives you a quick health check on your current portfolio. A high win rate suggests your stock picking or timing is working well.

Interpreting Win Rates:

  • 80%+: Exceptional, most positions are winners

  • 60-80%: Strong, you're picking well or timing is good

  • 40-60%: Average, normal for diversified portfolios

  • Below 40%: Concerning, may need strategy review

Important: A high win rate doesn't automatically mean high returns. If your winners gain 5% but your losers drop 20%, you could have a 70% win rate but negative returns. This is why Turbobulls shows both win rate AND actual return metrics together.

Using Win Rate Strategically

Track your Open Win Rate over time and by segment:
  • By asset type: Are your stocks outperforming your ETFs? How do your deposits compare to your funds?
  • By broker: Does one platform's research lead to better picks?
  • By strategy tag: Is your #growth strategy outperforming #value? What about #dividend vs #momentum?
  • By time period:
  • Lot open date: Are positions opened this year performing better than last year's?
  • Lot close period: Did Q3 exits outperform Q4 exits?
  • By lot status: Compare cleared positions vs uncleared to understand settlement timing effects
  • Custom multi-dimensional filters: Combine any criteria : for example, "cleared tech stock lots opened in 2024 via Interactive Brokers tagged #longterm"
Turbobulls' flexible filtering system lets you analyze win rates from any angle. Stack filters to uncover specific patterns in your trading behavior and identify what's actually working.
If your win rate is high but your returns are modest, you might be cutting winners too early. If your win rate is low but returns are good, you're probably letting winners run while cutting losers quickly—a sign of disciplined trading.
Your Open Win Rate updates in real-time with every market move, across all segments and strategies. Get started with Turbobulls

Realized vs Unrealized Returns: The Complete Picture

One of the most powerful features in Turbobulls is the breakdown between realized and unrealized returns. This distinction is crucial for understanding your actual gains.

The Key Difference

Realized Returns: Profits (or losses) from positions you've closed. This is actual money you could withdraw or reinvest.

Unrealized Returns: Paper gains (or losses) from positions you still hold. These could change before you sell.

Why This Matters

Many investors celebrate unrealized gains without considering they haven't actually captured that profit yet. Market conditions can change. Turbobulls shows you both, so you know:

  • How much profit you've actually locked in (realized)

  • How much is still at risk in the market (unrealized)

  • Your total return combining both

The Breakdown

Turbobulls breaks down both realized and unrealized returns into:

  • Capital Gain: Price appreciation/depreciation

  • Currency Gain: Foreign exchange effects

  • Income: Dividends and interest payments

Example:

  • Realized Capital Gain: +$1,200 (from sold positions)

  • Unrealized Capital Gain: +$1,600 (from current holdings)

  • Total Capital Gain: +$2,800

In Turbobulls: Every metric is available in both realized and unrealized views. This helps you understand not just your total performance, but how much of it you've actually captured.
Track both realized and unrealized returns across all positions with automatic component breakdown.
Try Turbobulls

What's Really Affecting Your Returns

Now for the plot twists. Your portfolio return isn't just "stocks go up, number gets bigger." Several hidden factors are always at work:

Price Return vs Total Return

Price Return: Just capital gains (stock price changes)

Total Return: Price gains + currency gains + dividends and distributions - fees and taxes

Many investors obsess over stock prices and ignore dividends. Big mistake. Over long periods, dividends can represent 30-50% of total returns.
Turbobulls tracks total return by default. Every dividend, interest payment, and distribution is captured. You see the complete picture automatically.

The Inflation Tax

Here's a painful truth: A 7% return during 3% inflation is really only a 4% increase in purchasing power.

Nominal Return: What your account shows

Real Return: What you can actually buy with it

Formula:

Real Return = [(1 + Nominal Return) / (1 + Inflation Rate)] - 1

Example:

  • Your portfolio: +10%

  • Inflation: 4%

  • Real return: [(1.10) / (1.04)] - 1 = 5.77%

You made 10%, but your buying power only grew about 5.8%. This is why your parents say "a dollar doesn't go as far as it used to."
During high inflation periods (like 2021-2023), many investors celebrated double-digit gains while their real purchasing power barely moved. Turbobulls shows your nominal returns, you'll need to manually subtract inflation to calculate real returns for long-term planning.

The Tax Collector Always Wins

Unless you're in a tax-advantaged account, Uncle Sam wants his cut. 
After-Tax Return = Total Return × (1 - Tax Rate)

This varies wildly based on:

  • Account type (taxable, IRA, 401k)

  • Investment type (stocks, bonds, crypto)

  • Holding period (long-term vs short-term capital gains)

  • Your income bracket

A 20% return becomes 15% after 25% taxes. That's substantial over decades of compounding.
Turbobulls lets you track taxes per transaction, giving you a complete picture of your costs. You can see total taxes paid across all transactions and factor this into your net returns calculations. The platform also lets you segment by account type to compare tax-advantaged vs taxable accounts.

Currency Effects (For the International Investors)

Bought foreign stocks? Currency fluctuations add another layer:

Local Return: Stock performance in its home currency

Currency Return: Exchange rate changes

Your Total Return: A combination of both

Example:

  • You buy Japanese stocks

  • Stocks gain 8% in yen

  • Yen weakens 5% against the dollar

  • Your return: approximately 2.6%

The investment did great locally, but currency movements ate most of your gains.
Turbobulls automatically handles multi-currency portfolios. Every position shows both local performance and home-currency returns. No manual conversion needed.

Practical Example: Reading Your Turbobulls Dashboard

Let's walk through a real scenario and see how Turbobulls brings it all together.

Your Investment Story

January 2024: Started with $20,000

March 2024: Market dipped, you added $5,000

April 2024: Sold some tech stocks for $3,500 (cost basis was $3,000)

June 2024: Received $400 in dividends (auto-reinvested)

September 2024: Withdrew $3,000 for car repairs (sold positions at a loss, -$200)

December 2024: Portfolio value $24,800

What Your Dashboard Shows

In Turbobulls, you'll see these key metrics:

Portfolio Overview:

  • Principal Invested: $25,000 (total deposits minus withdrawals)

  • Market Value: $24,800

  • Total Return: +$2,800 (+11.2%)

Performance Metrics:

  • Money Weighted Return (MWR): +12.3%

  • Annualized MWR: +12.1%

  • Open Win Rate: 65% (13 out of 20 open positions are profitable)

Return Breakdown:

  • Total Return: +$2,800

  • Realized Return: +$300 (from closed positions)

  • Unrealized Return: +$2,500 (from current holdings)

Component Analysis:

  • Capital Gain: +$2,300

  • Realized: +$500 (from sales in April)

  • Unrealized: +$1,800 (current holdings)

  • Currency Gain: +$100 (from foreign stocks)

  • Realized: +$50

  • Unrealized: +$50

  • Income: +$400 (dividends)

Costs:

  • Fees: -$75 (broker commissions)

  • Taxes: -$125 (tracked per transaction)

Interpreting the Story

Your investments are performing well with a 12.3% MWR. Your Open Win Rate of 65% shows that most of your current positions are profitable, which is a healthy sign. You've realized only $300 in gains so far (from selling positions), while $2,500 remains unrealized. This means most of your profit is still "on paper" and could fluctuate. The April sale was profitable (+$500 realized capital gain), but the September emergency withdrawal resulted in a small loss (-$200). This timing impacted your overall returns slightly.

Segment Analysis

Turbobulls lets you slice this data multiple ways:

By Asset Type:

  • Stocks: +15% MWR
  • ETFs: +8% MWR
  • Funds: +6% MWR
  • Deposits: +3% MWR

By Broker:

  • Broker A: +14% MWR, $50 in fees

  • Broker B: +10% MWR, $25 in fees

By Currency:

  • USD positions: +12% return

  • EUR positions: +8% return + 2% currency gain

By Tag:

  • #tech: +18% return

  • #dividend: +9% return

  • #longterm: +11% return

This segmentation helps you see exactly which strategies, brokers, or asset types are performing best. You can make informed decisions about where to allocate future investments.

Discover Which Strategies Actually Deliver

Move beyond portfolio-level metrics. Turbobulls' multi-dimensional analysis reveals performance patterns across assets, brokers, currencies, and custom segments, intelligence that transforms decision-making.

  • Performance segmentation by asset, broker, type (stocks, ETFs, funds, deposits), and currency
  • Custom tag-based strategy tracking
  • Comparative analysis across all dimensions
  • Identify your most profitable approaches instantly
Explore Advanced Analytics

Common Mistakes (And How to Avoid Them)

Mistake 1: Celebrating Deposits as Returns

The Error: "My portfolio is up $10,000 this year!"

The Reality: You deposited $8,000. Your investments grew $2,000.

The Fix: Always check percentage returns, not just dollar amounts. Turbobulls separates contributions from gains automatically.

Mistake 2: Ignoring Inflation

Mistake 2: Ignoring Inflation

The Error: "I made 6% last year, I'm doing great!"

The Reality: Inflation was 5%. You barely kept pace.

The Fix: Calculate real returns manually using the formula: Real Return = [(1 + MWR) / (1 + Inflation Rate)] - 1. For quick estimates, you can subtract inflation from your MWR, but this becomes less accurate with higher rates. Turbobulls shows your nominal returns, you'll need to factor in inflation yourself for long-term wealth assessment.

Mistake 3: Forgetting About Taxes

The Error: Comparing pre-tax returns between taxable and retirement accounts.

The Reality: That 15% in your taxable account might be 12% after taxes, while the 12% in your Roth IRA is all yours.

The Fix: Track accounts separately and consider tax implications. Turbobulls lets you tag accounts by type for better analysis.

Mistake 4: Short-Term Thinking

The Error: Panicking over monthly returns.

The Reality: Market volatility is normal. What matters is multi-year performance.

The Fix: Look at rolling 12-month returns, not individual months. Turbobulls provides historical performance views to smooth out the noise.

Mistake 5: Not Benchmarking

The Error: "I made 8% MWR this year, I'm a genius!"

The Reality: The S&P 500 returned 15%. You underperformed.

The Fix: Always compare your MWR against relevant benchmarks manually. While Turbobulls calculates your returns precisely, you should compare them to market indices to see if your stock picking is adding value.

Choosing the Right Metric for Your Question

Here's your quick decision guide:

1
"How much money did I make overall?" → Check Total Return
2
"How much profit have I actually captured?" → Look at Realized Return
3
"Am I timing my investments well?" → Compare your Money Weighted Return (MWR) to benchmarks
4
"Are my current picks working?" → Check Open Win Rate and Unrealized Return
5
"Which strategy/broker/asset type is best?" → Use segment analysis (by type, broker, currency, or tag)
6
"What are my actual costs?" → Review Fees and Taxes tracked per transaction
The beauty of Turbobulls? You don't have to choose. The platform calculates all of these simultaneously and presents them clearly. You just need to know which number answers your current question.

Advanced Tips for Power Users

Tip 1: Use Sub-Portfolios for Better Analysis

Create separate portfolios for:

  • Long-term holds vs trading positions

  • Different strategies (growth vs dividend)

  • Retirement vs taxable accounts

This lets you see which approaches are actually working.

Tip 2: Analyze Performance by Asset Type

See which asset types are carrying your returns. Are your stocks outperforming your ETFs? Should you shift more to funds or keep more in deposits? Turbobulls breaks down performance by type (stocks, ETFs, funds, deposits, etc.), helping you rebalance intelligently.

Tip 3: Export for Tax Time

Use Turbobulls' export features to generate reports for your accountant. Having clean data on realized gains, dividend income, and holding periods saves hours during tax season.

Final Thoughts: From Data to Decisions

Understanding portfolio performance metrics isn't about becoming a math wizard. It's about gaining clarity.

When you know:

  • What you've actually earned (vs. just deposited)

  • Why those returns happened (timing, market, strategy)

  • How inflation and taxes affect your real wealth

  • Whether you're meeting your goals

...you can make confident decisions instead of emotional reactions.

Turbobulls handles the complexity. You handle the strategy. The investors who succeed long-term aren't the ones with the fanciest tactics or the hottest tips. They're the ones who understand their numbers, learn from them, and adjust accordingly.

Now you're one of them.

Experience Institutional-Grade Portfolio Analytics

Turbobulls delivers the sophisticated performance measurement tools previously available only to professional asset managers, now accessible to individual investors who demand precision and clarity.

  • Automatic MWR and annualized return calculations
  • Realized vs. unrealized return tracking with component breakdown
  • Multi-dimensional performance analysis (asset, broker, type, currency, tag)
  • Real-time open win rate monitoring across all positions
  • Comprehensive fee and tax tracking per transaction
  • Zero manual calculations or spreadsheet maintenance
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Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Do I really need to track all these different metrics?

Not necessarily. If you're a buy-and-hold investor with simple cash flows, Money Weighted Return and Total Return are probably enough. But having access to all metrics helps you understand specific situations better.

Q: Which return should I use to compare myself to the S&P 500?

Money Weighted Return (MWR), but keep in mind this includes your timing decisions. If you want to isolate just your stock-picking skill from your timing, you'd need to check Time Weighted Return

Q: What's the difference between realized and unrealized returns?

Realized returns are from positions you've closed, actual locked-in profits or losses. Unrealized returns are from positions you still hold, paper gains or losses that could change. Turbobulls shows both so you know what you've captured vs. what's still at risk.

Q: What does Open Win Rate tell me?

It's the percentage of your currently open positions that are profitable. A 70% win rate means 70% of your holdings are showing gains. It's a quick health check on your current portfolio, though it should be viewed alongside actual return amounts.

Q: My account shows a different return than Turbobulls. Why?

Your broker might use Simple ROI or exclude certain transactions. Turbobulls uses comprehensive methods (MWR) that account for all cash flows. Our numbers are typically more accurate for real-world scenarios.

Q: How often should I check my performance?

For long-term investing, quarterly is plenty. More frequent checking can lead to emotional decisions based on normal market volatility.

Q: Can I trust Turbobulls' calculations?

Absolutely. We use industry-standard formulas (same ones used by institutional investors and financial advisors). You can verify any calculation by checking the transaction history and doing the math yourself, though we don't recommend it. That's what we're here for.

Read more

How We Compare Your Portfolio to Its Benchmark

How We Compare Your Portfolio to Its Benchmark

Understanding our fair and accurate portfolio performance comparison methodology

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Your Data, Your Device, Your Business

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Installing Turbobulls on Desktop and Mobile

Installing Turbobulls on Desktop and Mobile

A quick guide to installing Turbobulls as an app on your desktop or mobile device for faster access, offline use, and enhanced privacy.

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Please be advised that Turbobulls is a portfolio tracking and management tool designed for informational and organizational purposes only. It does not provide investment, financial, legal, or tax advice. All investment decisions involve inherent risks, including the potential loss of principal. The market data, analytics, and calculations presented through this platform are provided for reference only and may not reflect real-time or fully accurate information. No content or feature of this service should be interpreted as a recommendation, solicitation, or offer to buy or sell any security, financial instrument, or investment strategy. This platform and all associated content are provided on an "as is " and "as available" basis, without warranties of any kind, express or implied. Users are solely responsible for evaluating their own investment choices and for meeting any personal tax obligations.

Portfolio Performance Decoded: Stop Guessing, Start Knowing | Turbobulls Help Center | Turbobulls