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Beginner

Setting Up and Using a Personal Portfolio Tracker in Excel

A practical, step by step course on building your own portfolio tracker in Excel or Google Sheets. You will learn to log every transaction correctly, pull live prices, calculate true annualized returns with XIRR, track dividends and corporate actions, and keep a tracker that survives tax season instead of falling apart by March.

Portfolio TrackingExcel for InvestorsXIRRCapital Gains RecordsPersonal Finance Tools
MODULES
4
DURATION
4 Hours
TRACK
Stock Market Basics

What You'll Master

Set up a Holdings, Transactions, and Dashboard sheet structure that scales as your portfolio grows
Log buy and sell transactions so average price and realized gains are always correct
Pull live prices into your sheet with GOOGLEFINANCE or Excel Stock Data Types
Calculate true annualized returns with XIRR instead of misleading simple percentage gains
Track dividends, bonuses, and stock splits without breaking your return calculations
Build a Holdings sheet that reconciles cleanly against your broker's CAS at tax time
Access Level
LEARNER
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Everything included
Full Text Playbooks
Actionable Exercises
Mobile Reading Mode
Lifetime Updates

Curriculum Breakdown

Chapter 1: Why Track Your Portfolio

3 Lessons
▶
Why a Spreadsheet Beats Broker Apps for Real Tracking
Preview
▶
What You Need Before You Start
▶
Excel vs Google Sheets vs Ready Templates: Choosing Your Tool

Chapter 2: Building the Core Tracker

4 Lessons
▶
Designing Your Sheet Structure: Holdings, Transactions, Dashboard
▶
Logging Buy and Sell Transactions Correctly
▶
Pulling Live Prices with GOOGLEFINANCE and Stock Data Types
▶
Calculating Average Buy Price, Current Value, and Unrealized P&L

Chapter 3: Advanced Formulas and Automation

4 Lessons
▶
XIRR for True Annualized Returns
▶
Tracking Dividends and Corporate Actions
▶
Asset Allocation and Sector Exposure with Pivot Tables
▶
Conditional Formatting for At a Glance Health Checks

Chapter 4: Tax Reporting and Maintenance

3 Lessons
▶
Structuring Your Tracker for Capital Gains Tax at Year End
▶
Reconciling Your Tracker Against Broker CAS and Contract Notes
▶
Common Mistakes That Break Trackers and How to Avoid Them