Learn

Learn

Plain-language guides to reading a portfolio.

• How much of one company do you own through your funds?

  Your funds each hold hundreds of companies, and many hold the same ones. Here is how to add up your real exposure to a single company, by hand.

• What a portfolio spreadsheet can't tell you about your funds

  A spreadsheet can total your accounts and your allocation. It can't see inside your funds. Here is what that gap hides, and a way to check it yourself.

• What's in your old 401(k), and what is it costing you?

  How to find an old employer 401(k), get its fund list and expense ratios, and put a dollar figure on what it costs each year.

• How much are your funds actually costing you per year?

  The expense ratio never appears as a line on a statement. Here is how to turn it into dollars per year, across every account you hold, with a worked example.

Several of these guides discuss how much your funds hold in common. The fund overlap checker shows it for the funds you pick.