Third-Party Tools Overview

Third-party tools are convenience, not necessity. They work best as a supplement to your broker and spreadsheet, not as a replacement.

Key takeaways

• Personal Capital (Empower) is the most popular all-in-one US solution; strong for aggregation, weak for after-tax performance.
• Sharesight is the best option for non-US investors and those who care about cost analysis.
• Snowball Analytics is specialized: it focuses on tax-loss harvesting and after-tax returns (US only).
• No aggregator will tell you whether you are on track to retire by a specific year—that requires a separate financial plan.
• The best tool is usually a combination: one aggregator for wholeness, one spreadsheet for accuracy, one specialized tool for a specific need.

The aggregator landscape

Portfolio aggregators fall into two categories: free or low-cost tools with basic tracking, and premium tools with additional features like tax optimization or planning.

Personal Capital / Empower. Personal Capital was acquired by Empower in 2020 and is now branded as Empower (though many users still call it Personal Capital). It is free and focuses on aggregation and retirement planning.

Strengths:

• Connects to nearly every major US broker via direct API (Schwab, Fidelity, TD Ameritrade, Vanguard, Interactive Brokers, etc.).
• Shows your total net worth across all accounts, including real estate, crypto, and retirement accounts.
• Calculates a retirement projection based on your savings rate and expected return.
• No Plaid dependency for major brokers, so outages are rare.
• Mobile app is solid.

Weaknesses:

• The retirement projection is a simple linear calculation (does not account for volatility, market timing, or major life changes).
• Does not calculate after-tax returns (it shows pre-tax performance).
• The planning tools aggressively push you toward their advisory services.
• Fee analysis is superficial (it shows you fees you paid, but not whether you could pay less).

Cost: Free if you use only aggregation and basic planning; Empower also offers robo-advisory services ($0–$5,000 per year depending on assets managed).

Sharesight. Sharesight is a UK- and Australia-based portfolio tracker. It is strong for non-US investors and for anyone who cares deeply about cost analysis.

Strengths:

• Excellent cost tracking: it shows you the fee ratio of every fund, your blended weighted fee, and your total fees paid over time.
• Supports more international brokers than Personal Capital.
• Tax-loss harvesting identification (shows you which positions are underwater and by how much).
• Clear calculation of time-weighted return (more accurate than aggregators' approximations).
• Does not rely heavily on Plaid; uses direct integrations and manual upload.

Weaknesses:

• Primarily designed for UK and Australian investors (US support is growing but not complete).
• Requires manual account setup for some brokers.
• Retirement planning is minimal.
• Premium plan is >$100 per year.

Cost: Free basic version (limited to 5 portfolios); Premium is typically $10–$15 per month for full features.

Morningstar Premium. Morningstar is a research company that also offers portfolio aggregation and tracking as part of its Premium subscription.

Strengths:

• Excellent fund research and ratings (Morningstar stars).
• Clean aggregation interface.
• Tax loss harvesting watchlist.
• Strong for US investors who want research alongside tracking.

Weaknesses:

• Fewer direct broker integrations (relies more on Plaid for smaller brokers).
• Retirement planning is less detailed than Personal Capital.
• No after-tax return calculation.

Cost: $199 per year for Morningstar Premium (includes research, tools, and aggregation).

Others. Mint (closed in January 2024). Betterment (primarily a robo-advisor, but has aggregation). Wealthbase, Kubera, and a dozen smaller alternatives exist, but none combine aggregation, research, and tax tools as well as the three above.

Specialized tools

Beyond general aggregators, several tools focus on a specific need.

Snowball Analytics. Snowball is a US-only tool that specializes in tax-loss harvesting and after-tax return calculation. If you have significant unrealized losses or you care deeply about tax-loss harvesting, Snowball is worth the cost.

Strengths:

• Identifies tax-loss harvesting opportunities continuously (not just once a year).
• Calculates after-tax returns (factoring in capital gains, dividends, and state taxes).
• Shows you the break-even price (the price at which a position moves from a loss to a gain).
• Recommends replacement positions to avoid wash-sale violations.

Weaknesses:

• US only (does not work with international brokers).
• Requires you to connect your brokerage (it does not pull from Plaid; it connects directly to select brokers).
• Subscription is $99–$299 per year depending on assets.

Morningstar Investor Profile. A separate tool (distinct from Morningstar Premium) that helps you define your risk tolerance and asset allocation. Free.

Vanguard Personal Advisor Services and Schwab Wealth Account. These are advisory services (not tools) that include portfolio tracking as a component. You pay for advice; tracking is a byproduct. Cost: 0.30–0.50% of assets per year.

When to use each

Start with an aggregator if:

• You hold accounts at multiple brokers.
• You want a single dashboard to see your total net worth.
• You want to catch errors or missing positions quickly.
• You want to monitor your asset allocation without manual calculation.

Choose Personal Capital / Empower if:

• You are a US investor.
• You want a free tool with good reliability.
• You want retirement projections and scenario planning.

Choose Sharesight if:

• You are outside the US or hold international brokers.
• You care about fees (fund fee ratios, your blended fee, total fees paid).
• You want to identify tax-loss harvesting opportunities.

Add Snowball Analytics if:

• You have significant unrealized losses (more than $10,000).
• You actively harvest losses to offset capital gains.
• You want to know your after-tax returns (not just pre-tax).

Skip third-party tools if:

• You have only one broker.
• Your portfolio is simple (a handful of funds).
• You prefer to track manually in a spreadsheet.
• You cannot afford the subscription (spreadsheets are free).

The integration trap

Many investors use multiple tools and then try to reconcile them. This creates confusion. A better approach: pick one aggregator, trust it for daily monitoring, and use your spreadsheet for accuracy and intent.

If you use an aggregator, do not rely on it for tax-loss harvesting decisions without confirming against your broker statement. Do not use its performance calculation for your tax return. Use it for what it is good at: a high-level view.

Common mistakes

Confusing aggregator performance with actual performance. An aggregator shows time-weighted return (approximately). Your real performance depends on when you contributed—this is money-weighted return. They are different, and only the spreadsheet will get it right.

Assuming the aggregator is always up to date. Aggregator syncs lag the real time by hours or days. A trade you made today will not show up until tonight or tomorrow. Do not make decisions based on stale data.

Using multiple aggregators and comparing them. If you connect Empower and Sharesight to the same brokerage, they may show slightly different values because they sync at different times and use different methodologies. This creates doubt. Pick one.

Ignoring broker data in favor of aggregator data. The broker is always correct. If the aggregator shows something different, the aggregator is wrong (or lagging, or misinterpreting the data).

Paying for more than you need. A spreadsheet is free and will answer 95% of your questions. Do not pay for an aggregator subscription unless you have a specific need (multi-broker tracking, tax-loss harvesting, fee analysis).

Building your tool stack

A complete setup looks like this:

1. Broker statements (required; free): Your legal record.
2. One aggregator (optional; free to $200/year): A single dashboard across all brokers.
3. One spreadsheet (required; free): Your historical record and goal tracker.
4. One specialized tool (optional; $0–$300/year): Only if you have a specific need (tax loss harvesting, after-tax returns, fee analysis).

If you have only one broker, skip the aggregator and use just the spreadsheet. You will save time and eliminate a point of failure.

Decision tree

Next

You now know what tools exist and how to choose among them. But tools are just inputs. The real question is: how often should you look? Too much checking damages returns; too little leaves you vulnerable to errors. The next two articles cover the two checking cadences that work: monthly and quarterly.

Related concepts

• The Portfolio Tracking Stack
• Broker Statements vs Aggregators
• Spreadsheet Tracking Basics