Should We Include Cash?

One of the debates currently at Covestor is
whether we should include the ‘cash’ position of a member’s portfolio as
part of their investment record. A number of users have asked us to include
this as a better reflection of their overall investment decisions. We decided
not to incorporate the cash position in a member’s broker account initially as:

  • Without cash the portfolio is comparable to equity funds, which have to remain fully vested. 
  • We allow followers to make their own asset allocation and leverage decisions.
  • It is not easy to gain a total view of someone’s asset allocation as people keep cash in different accounts – e.g. in bank accounts as well as brokerage accounts.

We are coming to the view that we should include cash
sitting in the broker account as a ‘current holding’ to give followers a more
accurate view. This would arguably better reflect asset allocation and overall
portfolio performance. We would love your input so please let us know what you
think either by emailing us or by commenting…