Tracking your investment portfolio involves monitoring your holdings, understanding your returns, and keeping records for tax purposes. Done well, portfolio tracking helps you stay on plan, understand your true performance, and streamline tax time.
What Portfolio Tracking Involves
Good portfolio tracking covers three areas:
- Performance tracking — what return have you actually earned?
- Allocation monitoring — has your portfolio drifted from target?
- Tax record-keeping — dividends received, distributions, capital gains events for the ATO
Tools for Tracking Australian Portfolios
Sharesight (best for ASX investors)
Sharesight is the most widely used portfolio tracking tool for Australian investors. Key features:
- Automatically tracks dividends, distributions, and franking credits
- Calculates your true total return (XIRR — time-weighted return)
- Generates tax reports: CGT Report, Taxable Income Report (for pre-filling tax returns)
- Tracks multiple portfolios and super holdings
- Integrates with Xero and accounting software
Pricing: Free for up to 10 holdings; paid plans from ~$27/month for unlimited holdings. Tax reports require a paid plan.
Why Sharesight is worth it: Most broker statements do not correctly calculate total return (they ignore dividend reinvestment and timing). Sharesight does — so you know your actual XIRR, not just a rough price return figure.
Spreadsheet tracking (free, flexible)
A custom spreadsheet is free and fully flexible:
- Record each purchase and sale with date, price, units, brokerage
- Manually enter dividends as received
- Calculate CGT manually (FIFO or LIFO) or with ATO guidance
- Calculate approximate time-weighted return
Limitation: Manual entry is error-prone and time-consuming; no automatic ASX price feeds; CGT calculations are complex for long portfolios.
A good starting point: an Excel or Google Sheets template with columns for: Date | ETF | Units | Unit price | Total cost | DRP units | Cash dividends | Running value.
Broker platforms (CommSec, SelfWealth, Pearler)
Your broker dashboard provides:
- Current holdings value
- Portfolio gain/loss (from purchase price — not total return)
- Transaction history
- Distribution statements
Limitation: Each broker only shows holdings in that broker. If you use multiple brokers or have super separately, you need to aggregate manually or use Sharesight.
Super fund portals
Most super funds provide online access to:
- Current balance and investment option allocation
- Historical return vs benchmark
- Contribution history and employer contributions
Keep your super balance in mind when assessing total wealth — it is your largest investment for most working-age Australians.
Key Metrics to Track
| Metric | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| XIRR / IRR | Your actual annualised total return including dividends (most accurate measure) |
| Total portfolio value | Current worth of all investments |
| Asset allocation | Current split vs target (check for rebalancing need) |
| Dividend/distribution income (AUD) | Income generated (useful for FIRE planning and tax) |
| Franking credit total | Credit against your tax bill |
| Unrealised capital gains | Potential CGT liability if you sell |
| Total invested (cost basis) | Compare with current value |
How Often to Review
| Frequency | What to do |
|---|---|
| Monthly | Confirm contributions made; glance at balance |
| Quarterly | Review total return; check allocation drift |
| Annually | Full review: return vs benchmark, allocation rebalance, tax records, goal progress |
Avoid daily or weekly reviews — short-term market noise encourages poor emotional decisions. Annual reviews are sufficient for most long-term investors.
Tax Records — What to Keep
The ATO requires you to keep records for CGT for 5 years after disposal:
- Purchase confirmation (date, price, units, brokerage)
- Sale confirmation (date, price, units, brokerage)
- Dividend/distribution statements
- DRP statements (each DRP reinvestment creates a new cost base)
- Corporate actions (stock splits, mergers)
Sharesight’s CGT Report substantially automates this process and is ATO-compliant. If using a spreadsheet, keep all broker contract notes.
Related Articles
- Portfolio Rebalancing Australia
- Tax-Efficient Investing Australia
- Investment Returns Australia
- Portfolio Fees Australia
- Portfolio hub
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Sharesight worth it for Australian investors? For investors with more than 10 holdings or those who want to accurately track total return and simplify tax time, Sharesight’s paid plan is generally considered good value. The automated dividend tracking and CGT reporting saves significant time at tax time. General information only — not a product recommendation.
Do I need to track my super separately? Your super balance is part of your total wealth and should be included in a comprehensive net worth picture. However, super fund investments are managed by the fund and don’t require the same trade-level tracking as your personal brokerage account — just note your balance quarterly or annually.
What is XIRR and why does it matter? XIRR (Extended Internal Rate of Return) is an annualised return calculation that accounts for the timing and size of all cash flows (contributions, withdrawals, dividends). It is a more accurate measure of your actual portfolio return than a simple “portfolio is up 30% since I started” calculation, especially when contributions were made at different times.
This article provides general financial information only. For advice tailored to your situation, speak with a licensed financial adviser through the ASIC financial advisers register or MoneySmart.