Understanding Your Portfolio Numbers
A simple guide to how FundStat calculates your portfolio value, gains, and returns — with real examples you can follow along.
- 1Total Value = What your portfolio is worth right now (stocks + cash)
- 2Total Gain = How much money you've made or lost (in PLN/USD)
- 3MWR = Your personal return (considers when you added/removed money)
- 4TWR = Your strategy's return (ignores timing of deposits)
Your Dashboard at a Glance
When you open FundStat, you'll see three main cards at the top of your dashboard. Here's what each one tells you:
This is the big number — your total wealth right now. It adds up all your stocks at today's prices plus any cash sitting in your account. The percentage shows your total gain.
Calculation
Your stocks × current prices + your cash balanceThis shows how much profit (or loss) you're sitting on from stocks you still own. It compares what you paid for them versus what they're worth today. 'Unrealized' means you haven't sold yet — it's paper profit.
Calculation
Current value of your stocks − what you paid for themThese percentage returns help you understand how well your investments are performing. MWR tells you your actual personal gain, while TWR shows how good your investment choices were (ignoring when you deposited money).
Calculation
MWR = your real gain | TWR = your strategy's performanceTotal Gain — Your Profit in Real Money
This tells you the actual amount of money you've made (or lost) since you started investing. It's calculated by comparing your current portfolio value to the total amount of money you've deposited over time.
Total Gain = Current Value − Total Money Deposited
We subtract any withdrawals from your deposits. So if you deposited 10,000 PLN and withdrew 2,000 PLN, your net deposits are 8,000 PLN. This way, your gain reflects pure investment performance.
MWR — Your Personal Return
Money-Weighted Return (MWR) answers the question: 'How much did I actually earn on MY money?' It takes into account when you deposited or withdrew funds. If you added a lot of money right before a market crash, MWR will show that impact. MWR considers the timing and size of every deposit and withdrawal.
Why MWR Matters — A Real Scenario
Imagine this: You invest 1,000 PLN in January. By June, it's grown 50% to 1,500 PLN — great! Then you deposit 100,000 PLN in July, right before the market drops 10%. Your Time-Weighted Return (TWR) might still look okay (+35%), but your MWR correctly shows that you lost significant money because most of your capital was invested during the downturn. MWR tells the truth about YOUR experience.
On your dashboard, you'll see two numbers: the total MWR since you started, and an annualized version (what it would be per year). MWR is your true personal return.
TWR — How Good Is Your Strategy?
Time-Weighted Return (TWR) measures how well your investment choices performed, completely ignoring when you added or removed money. It's the industry standard used by fund managers because it purely reflects investment skill, not deposit timing.
| Date | SPY Price ($) | USD/PLN Rate | Value in USD | Value in PLN | Cumulative TWR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-12-01 | 680.27 | 3.649 | 1,000.00 | 3,649.00 | |
| 2025-12-02 | 681.53 | 3.6418 | 1,001.85 | 3,648.55 | -0.01% |
| 2025-12-03 | 683.89 | 3.6368 | 1,005.32 | 3,656.16 | +0.20% |
| 2025-12-04 | 684.39 | 3.6203 | 1,006.05 | 3,642.23 | -0.19% |
| 2025-12-05 | 685.69 | 3.6347 | 1,007.97 | 3,663.66 | +0.40% |
| 2025-12-08 | 683.63 | 3.6327 | 1,004.94 | 3,650.62 | +0.04% |
| 2025-12-09 | 683.04 | 3.6391 | 1,004.07 | 3,653.91 | +0.13% |
| 2025-12-10 | 687.57 | 3.6342 | 1,010.73 | 3,673.23 | +0.66% |
| 2025-12-11 | 689.17 | 3.6093 | 1,013.08 | 3,656.54 | +0.21% |
| 2025-12-12 | 681.76 | 3.5977 | 1,002.19 | 3,605.58 | -1.19% |
| 2025-12-15 | 680.73 | 3.5967 | 1,000.68 | 3,599.12 | -1.37% |
| 2025-12-16 | 678.87 | 3.5871 | 997.94 | 3,579.72 | -1.90% |
| 2025-12-17 | 671.4 | 3.5841 | 986.96 | 3,537.33 | -3.06% |
| 2025-12-18 | 676.47 | 3.5868 | 994.41 | 3,566.72 | -2.25% |
| 2025-12-19 | 680.59 | 3.5829 | 1,000.47 | 3,584.51 | -1.77% |
| 2025-12-22 | 684.83 | 3.5891 | 1,006.7 | 3,613.13 | -0.98% |
| 2025-12-23 | 687.96 | 3.5817 | 1,011.3 | 3,622.14 | -0.74% |
| 2025-12-24 | 690.38 | 3.5773 | 1,014.86 | 3,630.39 | -0.51% |
| 2025-12-26 | 690.31 | 3.5756 | 1,014.76 | 3,628.29 | -0.57% |
This method ensures your performance percentage reflects your actual investment decisions, not when you happened to add money to your account.
The Same Investment, Two Different Stories
SPY rose from $680.27 to $690.31 — that's +1.48% growth. If you were American, you'd be happy with this month's performance.
But the USD/PLN exchange rate dropped from 3.649 to 3.5756 (dollar got weaker by 2.01%). This wiped out your stock gains and left you at -0.57% in PLN. Currency matters!
"You deposit 1,000 PLN and it grows to 1,200 PLN — a solid 20% return! Then you deposit another 50,000 PLN. Now your 'simple' percentage gain looks tiny (200 PLN gain on 51,200 PLN total). TWR fixes this by calculating each period separately, so your 20% gain is still recognized. It's fair to your performance."
How Currency Exchange Rates Affect Your Returns
If you invest in foreign markets (like buying US stocks while your account is in PLN), your actual profit depends on two things: how the stock performs AND how the exchange rate changes. This can work for or against you.
For example, historical example: In some periods, the Polish zloty strengthens significantly against the US dollar. If the USD/PLN rate drops from around 4.10-4.20 PLN to approximately 3.90-4.00 PLN — a decline of roughly 5-7%. For Polish investors holding US assets, this means your dollar-denominated gains are worth less when converted back to PLN.
Even if the S&P 500 gained 5% during such a period, a Polish investor might see only a 0-2% gain in PLN terms — or even a loss if the currency moved faster than the stocks.
Apple grows to $1,100 (+10%) and the dollar strengthens to 4.20 PLN. Your investment is now worth 4,620 PLN — that's a +15.5% gain! The currency movement added extra profit on top of the stock's performance.
Apple grows to $1,100 (+10%) but the dollar weakens to 3.50 PLN. Your investment is now worth only 3,850 PLN — you actually lost 3.75% despite the stock going up! This is why FundStat shows your returns in your local currency.
Hypothetical example: Imagine you invested 10,000 PLN in an S&P 500 ETF when USD/PLN was 4.10. You received approximately $2,439 worth of shares.
What happened in USD
If the S&P 500 rose ~8%, your $2,439 would become ~$2,634 — a gain of $195.
What happened in PLN
If USD/PLN then dropped to 3.95, your $2,634 × 3.95 = 10,404 PLN. Instead of an 8% gain, you only gained 4% in PLN terms. The currency movement impacted your total profit.
Why This Matters Long-Term
Currency movements can dramatically affect your returns over time. The USD/PLN rate has ranged from 3.0 to 5.0 over the past decade. An investor who bought US stocks in 2020 when USD/PLN was 3.90 and sold in 2022 when it peaked at 4.80 got a 23% currency bonus on top of stock gains. But someone who bought at the 2022 peak is now facing the opposite situation.
This is why FundStat always shows your performance in your local currency — it's the only number that reflects your real purchasing power and tax liability.