Sharesight Review: How to Track Individual Shares
Published in July 2022 by Passive Income NZ
If you’re like me, you’ll know how tough it can be to keep track of your individual share investments on your own. That is why I generally only invest in index funds, but I do have some individual shares with Genesis Energy. So how do I track them? Well, after contemplating how best to invest, Tony Ryburn decided to take things into his own hands and created Sharesight, which launched in Wellington in 2008.
Thanks to this nifty and organised platform, asset management has become more accessible. That’s why I want to share this tool with you. Sometimes, it feels like Sharesight knows what I’m looking for before I do!
This portfolio tracker helps you easily keep tabs on your investment and brokerage accounts in a single online portfolio. If you have multiple accounts, Sharesight can offer you a comprehensive overview of them all.
With access to over 40 stock exchanges, Sharesight allows you to track:
- ETFs
- Listed bonds on the ASX and NZX
- A collection of international mutual funds
- Unlisted investments (P2P, property, and private equity)
- More than 100 currencies
The Step-by-Step
So, you’ve set up your account, and you’re all logged in. Now what?
Step 1: Import Holdings
Sharesight allows you to import all your holdings. This way, they’re all gathered in one easily accessible cloud space. You can do this in many ways, depending on what works best for you!
Sharesight automatically imports trade confirmation emails – a reliable time-saving feature. I’m a big fan of automation as long as it doesn’t compromise accuracy, which Sharesight doesn’t.
It also supports manual entry of import holdings, including trading history or opening balances. CSV uploads are possible too. Another option is to import them from supported brokers, including Hatch, Sharesies, NabTrade, Direct Broking, Yahoo! Finance, and SelfWealth.
Step 2: View Reports
Once on a report page, toggling display settings and information is straightforward. For example, you can opt to show monetary gains or open positions only in a performance report. Alternatively, a diversity report can appear as a pie chart with additional details below.
Because you can format reports according to your needs, they’re perfect for sharing investment information with a financial advisor or accountant.
Accurate Record Keeping
Sharesight will factor in currency effects, share prices, and share splits to flesh out your portfolio completely. It then produces a thorough long-term summary.
What does Sharesight track? So much! Here’s a short list:
- Capital gains
- Transactions
- Dividends
- Cost base
- Even some forms of cryptocurrency
The accuracy of this tracking is fantastic! Its exactness is unlike any other platform I’ve used before.
Why is this important? Well, it means that the pressure is off because you can rely on the platform to think for you.
Benchmarking your portfolio is also an easy-to-use Sharesight feature, which is especially helpful if you are serious about monitoring the success of your stock picks. As you might have guessed, I personally think this is an excellent idea!
What Makes Sharesight Different?
User-Friendly Clarity
Sharesight’s interface is self-explanatory and easy on the eye. Honestly, I believe this site is a game-changer for investment management. You can glimpse your share performance across accounts in one fell swoop. It’s clear, user-friendly, and powerful!
From your portfolio page, all types of reports appear as organised thumbnails. Choose the type of report you want, whether a performance report, future income report or taxable income report. Then, click on the appropriate thumbnail. Voila!
Sharesight also has a mobile app available from the Apple App Store and Google Play.
For Anyone and Everyone
Sharesight is ideal for those of you who might be new to investing. It helps to keep track of many accounts at once, and it also does a lot of the complicated labour for you by displaying its insights in a simple format.
If you’re a newcomer to investments, I promise you that Sharesight will make things less daunting! Navigating the site feels intuitive, and it caters well to short-term and long-term investors alike.
Tax reporting formats are also easily adjustable according to country or region. This is an excellent feature for international investors.
Source: Engine Room
Customer Service & Feedback
Okay, to be fair, you pay for what you get here, and more expensive memberships offer customer service priority. There are several communication channels, which means receiving support is a speedy process.
These customer service options include:
- An in-app chat
- A community forum
- A help centre
You can also check out Sharesight’s webinars and events.
Sharesight has boomed because its founders paid attention to customer feedback and adapted the site accordingly. This is a mark of a high-quality investment tool, and it keeps up with our rapidly changing world!
Membership Costs
So how much money should you set aside if you want to make Sharesight one of your key investment tools?
The platform currently offers four plans, starting with the most basic, and each includes the following (prices in New Zealand dollars for the yearly* subscription plan):
- Free Plan – 1 portfolio, ten holdings, five report types ($0/mo)
- Starter Plan – 1 portfolio, 20 holdings, five report types ($19/mo)
- Investor Plan – 4 portfolios, unlimited holdings, eight report types ($29/mo)
- Expert Plan – 10 portfolios, unlimited holdings, all 11 report types ($49/mo)
*If you choose to pay monthly, the cost of each plan is 25% more expensive than what I’ve listed here.
All plans include:
- Automated dividends and adjustments
- Price and portfolio email alerts
- Portfolio sharing
- Trade confirmation email imports.
The top tier plans (Investor and Expert) also offer:
- Labels and reports filtering
- Cash accounts
- Benchmarking
- Xero integration
Here is a list of the report types on offer for each plan:
You will unlikely want to track fewer than ten stocks unless you’re just starting out. Just keep in mind that Sharesight does the work of an investment advisor at a fraction of the price. In my experience, it’s a lot more comprehensive too!
As the saying goes, if you want something done right, do it yourself. Sharesight helps you keep track of your investments on your terms with guidance and extreme accuracy. It really is a valuable, effective tool!
Have you used Sharesight? If so, did you find it helpful? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.
If you’re new to all of this, Sharesight has a pretty good deal running at the moment where you save 4 months on their annual premium plan. Check it out here.
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