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How to see your portfolio's real returns (unrealized P&L)

Most people know what their account is worth, but not how much they've actually made. Those are different numbers. Your true return isn't today's value — it's how much that value has grown versus what you paid (your average cost).

Average cost and cost basis

If you bought in several lots, your average cost is total spent divided by total shares. Your cost basis is the total you actually put in. Unrealized P&L = (current price − average cost) × shares — the on-paper gain you haven't sold yet.

Why the app number can mislead

Free data is usually the previous close (EOD), not a live intraday price — so it can differ from your brokerage app. Dividends, fees, and taxes aren't in unrealized P&L either. It's for reading the big picture, not a settlement statement.

Seeing it at a glance

Upload a brokerage CSV and TICKR lays out unrealized P&L per holding and in total, plus allocation and investing style. When a quote is temporarily missing, it honestly shows "no quote" and excludes that holding from the math — so an outage never looks like a real loss.

FAQ

Unrealized vs. realized P&L?

Unrealized is the on-paper gain on what you still hold; realized is locked in once you sell. TICKR focuses on unrealized P&L.

Do I connect my brokerage account to TICKR?

No — no account linking; you just upload a CSV. Raw files aren't retained; only normalized holdings are stored encrypted.

Upload your brokerage CSV to see your real returns — free, or explore the demo first.

Explore the demo →

General educational information — not investment advice or a solicitation to trade. Quotes may be previous close (delayed).