How to Track Investment Performance: A Step-by-Step Guide

Turn closed trades into a readable performance view

Learning how to track investment performance with Investfly means opening a virtual portfolio, closing practice trades, then using the Performance tab to read Net Trading Return and the Cumulative Trade P/L (%) chart. Those figures summarize matched closed trades—not deposits, withdrawals, or still-open positions.

This tutorial is for active no-code traders who want a clear practice record. Prefer an Investfly virtual portfolio so every matched trade and simulated fee is available in one place. The walkthrough uses fictional numbers labeled as a simulation; it is not a promise of results.

1. Open a virtual portfolio for practice tracking

Sign in, open Portfolios, and select an Investfly virtual account—or create one with New Portfolio if you need a clean practice book. Give it a recognizable name such as “Performance practice.” See how to create a virtual portfolio for the full setup.

Write one objective before trading: “Close two stock round-trips, then reconcile Net Trading Return from the recorded fills.” Keep the first exercise small so each cash and P/L change is easy to follow. Connected-broker Performance is best-effort and may omit older history or fees; use the virtual account for this tutorial.

2. Close trades so Performance has matched observations

Performance updates from matched closed positions. Open positions appear in balances and Open Positions, but they do not enter Net Trading Return until they close. Place supported manual trades, wait for fills, then close the same instruments so Trade History and closed-position records show complete round-trips.

Confirm each close in Trade History and Open Positions before opening the Performance tab. The paper trading simulator guide and portfolio dashboard overview cover the shared workspace tabs.

3. Read Net Trading Return and the Cumulative Trade P/L chart

Open the portfolio workspace and select the Performance tab. Look for:

Entry exposure is gross traded-instrument exposure (price × quantity × multiplier), not margin posted or idle cash. Larger entry exposures weigh more in the aggregate than smaller ones.

4. Worked fictional example (simulation only)

These two completed stock round-trips are illustrative. They are not current quotes, not a strategy recommendation, and not a forecast:

Cumulative net P/L is $56 and cumulative entry exposure is $1,800. Net Trading Return is 100 × 56 / 1,800 ≈ 3.11%. After the first close the chart would show 9.80%; after the second close it ends at about 3.11%, matching the headline metric.

If you later close a third break-even trade with large exposure, the ratio can move toward zero by diluting average trade efficiency—even though that trade did not create an account loss by itself.

5. Checklist before you trust the number

• Account type: Confirm you are on an Investfly virtual portfolio for this exercise.
• Closed only: Every trade you expect in the metric appears as a matched closed position; open marks are excluded.
• Fees: Virtual results include simulated round-trip fees; do not compare them blindly to a broker statement that omits fees.
• Cash flows: Note any deposits, withdrawals, or resets separately from Net Trading Return.
• Not TWR/MWR: Do not relabel the metric as time-weighted return, money-weighted return, CAGR, or total account return.
• No live benchmark: Do not expect a benchmark overlay on the live Performance tab.
• Review question: Write one sentence about what the closed trades measured well and one about what they did not (idle cash, overlapping exposure, or open risk).

Limitations to keep visible