How to Compare Your Portfolio Against Any Benchmark with the Line Chart Widget

Why Does Comparing Against a Benchmark Matter?

Without a reference point, portfolio returns are meaningless. A 10% gain sounds great — but not if cash in a savings account returned 4% and your benchmark returned 15%. Benchmark comparison is how professional fund managers are evaluated, and it should be how you evaluate your own portfolio too.

The problem is that most tracking tools — including spreadsheets — make benchmark comparison painful: you have to manually download index data, align dates, and build your own chart. The Line Chart widget does all of this automatically.

A return without a benchmark is just a number. A return versus a benchmark is a decision.

What Does the Line Chart Widget Show?

The widget displays the value of your portfolio over time as a smooth line chart. You can choose any time period from a single day to the full history of your portfolio. The chart updates automatically as new transactions and market prices come in.

What makes it powerful is the groupBy option: you can split the single line into multiple lines — one per portfolio, one per asset type, one per sector, one per currency, or even one per individual holding. This lets you see exactly which part of your portfolio is driving (or dragging) performance.

How Do You Add a Benchmark to the Chart?

In the widget settings, there is a benchmark field. You can select from a list of major indices including equity indices, inflation benchmarks, and bond indices. Once selected, the benchmark line appears on the same chart with the same time axis — no manual alignment needed.

You can also leave the benchmark empty to use the chart as a pure portfolio trend view without comparison. The widget works well either way.

How Do You Configure the Line Chart Widget?

Tap the settings icon on the widget to open the configuration panel. The main options are:

1. Portfolio filter — select one, several, or all portfolios. If you select multiple, the chart shows the combined value.
2. Time period — choose from 1 day, 1 week, 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, 1 year, year-to-date, or all time.
3. Group by — select how to split the lines: by portfolio, asset type, asset class, currency, sector, region, country, or individual holding.
4. Benchmark — pick an index to overlay on the chart, or leave blank for no benchmark.
5. Include cash — toggle whether uninvested cash is included in the portfolio value.

Which Benchmark Should You Choose?

The right benchmark depends on your portfolio composition. If you hold mainly global equity ETFs, a world equity index is the most relevant comparison. If you hold European equities, a European index makes more sense. If you want to beat inflation, an inflation benchmark is appropriate.

A common mistake is comparing a diversified 60/40 portfolio against a 100% equity index. The equity index will almost always win during bull markets — but that comparison ignores the risk you have chosen not to take. Choose a benchmark that reflects your actual investment strategy.

What Are the Most Useful Group-By Combinations?

The groupBy option unlocks the most interesting use cases of this widget. Here are three configurations worth saving as separate widgets on your dashboard:

• 1Group by portfolio + no benchmark: see how each of your separate portfolios has evolved over time. Useful if you have one portfolio per broker or one per goal.
• 2Group by asset class + benchmark: compare your equity sleeve, bond sleeve, and cash against a blended benchmark. Immediately reveals which component is underperforming.
• 3Group by currency + no benchmark: understand how currency exposure is affecting your total return. If your EUR-denominated portfolio holds USD assets, currency moves appear clearly.

How Is the Line Chart Different from the Stack Chart and Portfolio Trends?

DonkyCapital has three widgets that show portfolio evolution over time, each with a different focus. Portfolio Trends uses a stacked area chart to show absolute value growth. Stack Chart uses a 100% stacked bar chart to show how your composition has shifted over time as percentages.

The Line Chart is the only one designed for direct performance comparison — between segments of your portfolio, and against external benchmarks. If you want to answer 'am I beating my benchmark?', this is the widget to use.

Frequently Asked Questions