It’s just math.  That’s what so great about the markets and investing; it’s easy to keep score.  But not for your brokerage firm, apparently.

Brokerage firms are fantastic at sending thick sheets of paper with reams of data about your portfolio.  But do they send you that one critical piece information you absolutely require to be an informed investor, namely your portfolio performance?  How much you actually made or lost?  No.

This is vital information. And calculating your actual total portfolio return
is not easy to do on your own, according to Jonathan Clements, Personal Finance Reporter from WSJ.  There is a great interview with Jonathan on NPR where he answers the unasked question on why brokerage firms do not supply this critical data point.

“It’s obvious: if people really knew how their portfolios
were performing, they would start to ask all kinds of questions like how much paying
in investment costs and how competent their money managers really are.”

Exactly.

At Cake, we calculate your portfolio performance for you, and we do so across all of your brokerage accounts.  We want you to be a more informed investor with insights into your performance, so that you can do better.  You should ask the questions your broker or advisor does not want to answer.

When you link your brokerage accounts to Cake, we automatically calculate your daily, monthly, and year-to-date portfolio performance, as well as your average annual returns. That way you get a complete picture of how you’re doing in the short-term, as well as over long periods of time.  It is one of the most important aspects of your life and you should be as informed about it as you are about how much space is left on your iPod.

It’s just math.  And Cake wants you to know your score.

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