Why you need the right tool for the job

I got married in 2013. Then I bought a power drill -- a cheap one. I’ve spent a total of five hours assembling flat pack furniture in the last four weeks alone and I’m salty about it.

First it was a play kitchen (from Ikea) for my two year old daughter built while my wife was in labour with our second because we wanted her to have a gift “from” her new brother. Then, it was heavy outdoor furniture with sharp hex (Allen) keys and stripped bolts that left me with bloody knuckles.

I counted 14 (14!) hex keys in my toolbox, equating to three and a half flat pack nightmares per year and 35 hours of work since getting married. I didn’t buy those hex keys. They only come from one place.

Looking back on it, I should have bought the right tool years ago. A decent drill that charged quickly, had the right size bits, and enough power to get the job done would have saved me time and aggravation.

The wrong tools for the job

Recently we’ve seen Google announce that they’re shutting down the Google Finance portfolio feature. This will leave millions of investors in the lurch because they relied on a portfolio watchlist built by a company with no interest in maintaining it.

Yahoo! Finance for their part announced that they’re entering the online broking space. Will this mean that the Yahoo Finance portfolio tracker will only become available to users who trade through Yahoo’s broker partners? Who’s to know, but I guarantee changes are on the way.

Not only can’t you trust these services will be around for the long term, they can downright mislead investors about their portfolio performance. Even your online broker will often provide you with misleading performance figures -- not because they can’t provide you the right figures, but because they don’t generate revenue from doing so.

Sharesight -- The right tool for the job

Sharesight was founded 10 years ago to solve two problems:

1. The nightmare that is accounting and tax record keeping
2. To enable investors to track the true performance of their portfolios

Over the last ten years Sharesight has made tracking the true performance of your investment portfolio easier than ever.

Find out why thousands of investors agree that you need the right tool for the job, and when it comes to tracking your portfolio, that tool is Sharesight. We offer a Free plan for up to 10 holdings, so sign up for Sharesight today and try it yourself.

FURTHER READING

• Blog -- 7 reasons why Sharesight is better than a spreadsheet
• Blog -- 3 easy ways to automate your portfolio admin
• Blog -- How to track a dividend reinvestment plan