The Google Finance portfolio tracker was updated earlier this year. The “update” was more like a horrendous downgrade. It removed all the useful features until there was nothing left worth using. I’m not entirely sure what Google was thinking.

Since then, I looked for a replacement to no avail. I settled on using a spreadsheet via Google Sheets to track things.

I also used Google Finance to track the performance of indexes, factors, and alternative strategies via a corresponding ETF. It didn’t get heavy use but it was convenient to have everything in one place.

Creating something similar in a spreadsheet has been on my to-do list. So I tackled that this week. Turns out, it works better in a spreadsheet. Here’s the result (links to copy and explanation are below): Continue Reading…

An algorithm is simply a set of rules or a process to automate decisions.

It can be highly complex or as simple as you want to make it. It can be rigid or flexible. It can be precise or good enough. There is a range of opinions on all of those possibilities as to what is best.

The one thing Daniel Kahneman knows is that algorithms are better than humans when making decisions (emphasis mine): Continue Reading…