Interactive Investor cannot show you the value of your portfolio over time!!!

[kandikisses]

This post is part rant part question: what broker do you use, does it show you the value of your portfolio over time, and does it offer trading account, ISA, Junior ISA and Lifetime ISA? I'd rather not scatter my accounts across too many brokers (right now I have AjBell + II, but simply because AjBell is among the few offering a LISA).

I have been with Interactive Investor for a while.

I am a buy and hold type of investor, I am not interested in day trading margining exotic options etc etc.

II has competitive fees, but on some things it looks worse than the first online brokers of the 1990s. One such thing is that Interactive Investors cannot show you the value of your portfolio over time!!!!

• It will show you the total gain since you acquired a certain security. E.g. if you bought Acme shares when they were worth £10k and now they are worth £12k, it will show you a gain of £2k. But it won't tell you if you made this gain in a month or in 5 years!
• And the "x-ray" feature will show what the current portfolio would have looked like in the past. So if your portfolio is, say, £60k of shares X and £40k of shares Y, it will show you what that exact portfolio would have been worth over time. It does NOT show you what your actual portfolio was worth in the past. E.g. if last year you added £10k, or if last year you were invested in A and B and not X and Y, it won't show any of that.
• You can request a valuation of the portfolio, but only going back 3 years, and it takes a week. And it's not a spreadsheet with day by day values, but a message with the values as of Jan-2021, Jan-2022, Jan-2023, Jan-2024. Do they have interns calculating this with pen and paper somewhere?

To be clear, all of the above was confirmed in writing by them.

Of course the obvious question is: why not tell them to get lost and move the account elsewhere? I'm looking into it, but many other brokers have other limitations:

• Interactive Brokers doesn't let you buy bonds in its ISA and requires a SIPP administrator for the SIPP. I am unclear on the pros and cons of this setupIG doesn't let you buy bonds
• AJ Bell, HL and Saxo are more expensive
• I am reluctant to consider smaller brokers which haven't been around long but maybe I'll look into those.

Maybe it might be easier to just keep a manual spreadsheet and record the valuation of the accounts there every month.

UPDATE 1: AJ Bell is the same as Interactive Investor. They can produce ad hoc valuation but only manually, They confirmed it in writing

 

[endtimeseconomist]

@kandikisses It's not likely to get any better at ii, sadly. They have an absolutely dreadful product department, according to my friend who worked there.

Classic case of big company not trusting their own people, so they've hired an external design company who is taking them for a ride. Making things look shiny but not actually giving users what they want, basically.

I use Vanguard and they definitely show you progress over time, very prominently on your account page.

 

[brandonap09]

@endtimeseconomist What's your overall experience with Vanguard? any pros and cons? seems like a viable alternative.

 

[endtimeseconomist]

@brandonap09 Bear in mind I have only seen Vanguard and ii's interface. Vanguard seems a lot better to use.

I went with Vanguard purely because they have the lowest fees for my small-ish (£50k) pension.

A potential downside is you're restricted to Vanguard's own funds, but they have a great global index tracker (VRWL) which is all I need. If you want to invest in individual shares, Vanguard can't help you.

 

[brandonap09]

@endtimeseconomist thanks, this helps, I will keep that in mind!

 

[simslions]

@endtimeseconomist Can you buy NASDAQ stocks on Vanguard SIPP?

 

[kandikisses]

@endtimeseconomist

It's not likely to get any better at ii, sadly. They have an absolutely dreadful product department, according to my friend who worked there.

And the owner Aberdeen (I refuse to call them with their new, silly vowel-less name) is unlikely to pour more money into revamping II's online platform, given all the trouble they (Aberdeen) are in...

 

[endtimeseconomist]

@kandikisses Interesting. It's almost as though a company that removes the vowels from its name doesn't have good business sense!

 

[julia736]

@kandikisses I think everything you write is perfectly normal. iWeb / Lloyds / Halifax are the same.

It's not technically that hard building a portfolio tracker like you require - the hard part is integrating it without interruption into a large legacy system with many thousands of existing users.

Also, of course, most people should't need this because an index tracker is guaranteed to meet its benchmark.

I downloaded this a while back, but haven't tried it yet: https://www.portfolio-performance.info/en/

 

[kandikisses]

@julia736

Also, of course, most people should't need this because an index tracker is guaranteed to meet its benchmark.

But the point is not checking whether a passive tracker meets its benchmark, but to check how the portfolio value has changed over time.

I don't do any day trading but I might rebalance the portfolio once or twice a year

 

[kandikisses]

@julia736 AJ Bell doesn't seem to have this, either. How about Intercative Brokers or Hargreaves Lansdown, does anyone know?

 

[kandikisses]

@azchowdhury1962

i wanted to answer the question "am i adding any value here or would i be better off with just buying the index". you can guess the answer

That was not the question. I am not trying to be Warren Buffett beating the index, but which index do you choose? There are so many to choose from. Developed world (according to which index, the definition changes)? All country world? Etc etc. Plus the SIPP is inaccessible before pension age but there times when I have needed to access the funds in the ISA, so it would be useful to keep track of the value over time. I guess doing it manually on a spreadsheet is easier.

 

[julia736]

@kandikisses

but which index do you choose? There are so many to choose from. Developed world (according to which index, the definition changes)? All country world? Etc etc.

If you don't know the answer to this, then you should slow down with all your questions to the finance subreddits and take some time to read more.

The only difference between FTSE's developed world and MSCI's developed world, last time I heard, was South Korea, which is dominated by Samsung. And this is about 2% or 3% of global market cap, so it doesn't make any difference. And even if it was 5% or so of global market cap, it still wouldn't make any difference because Korean equities are correlated with the rest of the world.

(I use the term all world fund to denote an index tracker that includes both developed and emerging markets, as opposed to a simple world fund which tracks only the developed world.)

Find some funds that track world and all world indexes, then go to TrustNet or Morninstar and plot them together on the same chart. If you take the time to do this then you will understand asset allocation better. It will take you more than 5 minutes, but I assure you it is worth doing. Then read Smarter Investing.

 

[kandikisses]

@julia736 I think there may have been some misunderstanding. I was not asking for advice on which index to choose.

I was simply pointing out that, contrary to what some reddit folks seem to believe, there isn't a single index to choose. There are multiple options.

And that there are a gazillion legitimate reasons, which don't involve playing Gordon Gekko placing 200 orders a day, why one would want to monitor the value of their accounts. I find the replies along the lines of "you must follow THE INDEX, you know how THE INDEX has performed, so there is no need to monitor anything" quite annoying to be honest. But horses for courses.

 

[julia736]

@kandikisses

I find the replies along the lines of … quite annoying to be honest.

Yet, for some reason, you insist on engaging with them.

This subreddit does not belong to you, and it does not exist solely for your benefit. You seem to feel at liberty to spunk your questions all over this subreddit (we might have to limit that) and then bitch about the replies you get, from people trying to help you. And it doesn't even occur to you that these replies might help other people!

Someone gives you the actual definition of savings and investments and you don't accept that these are, in fact, the actual definitions of the words you're using. Knowing the definitions of the words used in finance might help you ask better and clearer questions in the finance subreddits! But no! You'd rather complain some more and call it "arrogant" to understand what you wrote. There's not much helping you, is there?

 

[kandikisses]

@julia736

You seem to feel at liberty to spunk your questions all over this subreddit

Please do explain which of my post, or which of my replies to other people, would be irrelevant, and why

(we might have to limit that)

Are you the typical reddit moderator who throws a tantrum and bans users who dare disagree with them on some minor points?

and then bitch about the replies you get,

No, I moan about the replies which are patently irrelevant, off topic and do not answer the question

Someone gives you the actual definition of savings and investments and you don't accent that these are, in fact, the actual definitions of the words you're using

??? I never asked you for the definition of savings and investments. Read the post. By the way, it's another post, not even this one. I was talking about tracking the value of accounts over time, accounts which include gilts.

Yes, I used the word 'investments' in the title. Please, do provide a definition of investments which excludes gilts. Is that the definition of the Merriam Webster Dictionary? Of the Oxford dictionary? Of the CFA curriculum? Of "Investments" by Bodie - Kane - Marcus?

The professional investors who use gilts as part of their strategies, e.g. liability-driven-INVESTMENTS for pension funds, should be called professional savers? Ad those strategies liability-driven-savings? You know what LDI is, don't you?

When the financial press talks about how to invest in bonds, they're getting it wrong because they should really be saying "saving in bonds"?

When platforms like Interactive Investors talk about "investing in gilts" they're getting it wrong, too?

Or, you know, you could maybe recognise that the difference between savings and short term investments is a subtle matter of semantics, totally irrelevant to the topic of tracking the value of certain accounts which contain equity ETFs, gilts and other assets.

 

[julia736]

@kandikisses I mean, you posted asking for recommendations of an app that tracks the value of your investments when you meant that you want an app that tracks your net worth.

You clearly think you're financially sophisticated, yet you're unable to see the wood for the trees. You don't see that the difference between two world indexes is unimportant - they're doing the same damned thing, but you want to fixate upon some perceived difference. You're being argumentative about the definition of gilts as an "investment" even though you know the whole point of them is that their value doesn't change.

Most people don't need to ask the same question every week, just so they can bitch about getting the same answers every time. Or to post some other different question every day. Asking all these questions isn't helping you because you don't spend time thinking about the subject - you just seem to want it handed to you on a plate. Your posts are not helping you and they're wasting everybody else's time. Whinging more and attacking other people will not help you, nor will it get you better answers.

 

[kandikisses]

@julia736

You don't see that the difference between two world indexes is unimportant - they'e doing the same damned thing,

That is NOT what I was talking about! But if it makes you feel better to think that I am a deluded individual who fails to understand all that you do understand, please be my guest

You're being argumentative about the definition of gilts as an "investment" even though you know the whole point of them is that their value doesn't change

??? I am being argumentative? I simply wanted to track the value of accounts which contain gilts ETFs and other assets. It's you who got all argumentative and threw up a tantrum over how I shouldn't be tracking the value of gilts because they're not investments. BTW, if you think the value of gilts never changes, it means you don't quite understand how bonds work

Most people don't need to ask the same question every week

What question would I have asked every week?

Or to post some other different question every day

So now posting different questions is not OK?? Which of my posts would have been irrelevant?

• The one where I asked about the withholding tax on US dividends for Lux-domiciled ETFs?
• Where I asked some questions on the taxation of deeply discounted securities?
• The one about EUR saving accounts for UK tax residents?
• The one about calculating capital gains in another currency?
• On the taxation of Excess Reportable Income for ETfs?
• On SIPP administrators for IBKR?
• On how gilts can be more tax efficient than saving accounts for higher earners?

These are irrelevant posts which "are not helping" and "are wasting everyone's time" and mean that something may have to be done because I'm posting too much?

 

[julia736]

@kandikisses

the difference between savings and short term investments is a subtle matter of semantics,

So basically the preceding three paragraphs or so were just an irrelevant rant?

You were ranting about semantics?

If you post asking about investments then people are going to tell you to disregard your savings. Ranting that "semantically my savings are investments" doesn't change their true nature.

This is another example of you being unable to see the wood from the trees - you're arguing about the definition of a word, like deliberately you want less helpful answers.

If you want to track your net worth then I recommend you ask about apps that do that, not about apps that track the value of your investments.

 

[kandikisses]

@julia736 So someone tells you they want to track the value of an account which includes gilts ETFs and other assets, and your reply is that gilts should be tracked and monitored separately?

Just for curiosity, to humour you, in your mind, what is the difference between savings and short-term investments?

Do you define them based on the term?

A gilt which expires in 6 months is a saving?

How about 1 year? 2? 3? Is there a threshold beyond which strolls promotes a gilt from saving to investments? I'm curious...

Or do you define them based on risk?

You mentioned a definition of savings as something whose value doesn't change. If that is your definition, then gilts don't fit this definition fully, because you can incur a loss if you sell before maturity and rates have risen in the meanwhile. This is kind of a biggie which you seem to have missed, yet you love to criticise my alleged ignorance. Ah, the beauty of the internet...