If you want to identify which investments in your portfolio are performing best this year, focus on year-to-date (YTD) returns. YTD returns measure how much an asset has gained or lost since January 1st. This metric helps you quickly see which holdings are thriving and which need attention.

Here’s how you can do it:

  • Understand YTD Returns: Calculate YTD by subtracting the starting value (January 1st) from the current value, dividing by the starting value, and multiplying by 100. For example, if a stock started at $100 and is now $120, its YTD return is 20%.
  • Track All Accounts Together: If your investments are spread across platforms (401(k), brokerage accounts, etc.), consolidating them into one view is key. This avoids missing trends or duplications.
  • Use Tools Like Mezzi: Mezzi securely links your accounts, calculates YTD returns automatically, and ranks your holdings from best to worst performance. It also provides insights like tax efficiency, sector risks, and diversification gaps.

With tools like Mezzi, you can skip manual calculations, spot trends, and make informed decisions - whether it’s rebalancing, locking in gains, or addressing underperformers. YTD returns give you a clear snapshot of your portfolio’s current health.

Combining All Your Accounts for Complete Portfolio Analysis

Why You Need to Combine Multiple Accounts

It’s common for investors to spread their assets across various platforms - a 401(k) through work, a Roth IRA at Fidelity, individual stocks with Charles Schwab, and maybe even cryptocurrency on Coinbase. While this spread can help diversify your portfolio, it can also make tracking your overall performance a real challenge.

When your investments are scattered, it becomes harder to get a clear picture of your total exposure or pinpoint which assets are driving your returns. You might even miss trends or overlaps that could impact your strategy. This is where Mezzi steps in, offering a streamlined way to bring all your accounts together for a complete analysis.

Mezzi

Mezzi simplifies the process of managing fragmented data by securely connecting your accounts through trusted, read-only aggregators. These systems ensure your investment data is accessed safely without storing your login credentials. Instead, Mezzi uses these intermediaries to pull in your data securely and in a way that protects your privacy.

Getting started is simple. You choose your financial institution from Mezzi’s extensive list of supported providers, which includes all major U.S. brokerages, and log in through the official authentication process. Mezzi adheres to strict U.S. privacy standards and even offers secure Apple login options to safeguard your personal information.

Once your accounts are linked, Mezzi automatically gathers your holdings and calculates your year-to-date (YTD) returns. This consolidated view gives you a complete snapshot of your portfolio, allowing Mezzi’s AI to analyze your investments as a whole. It doesn’t matter which account holds a particular asset - Mezzi ranks your holdings by performance, providing insights that help you make smarter investment decisions.

Calculate Year to Date Investment Returns in Excel with STOCKHISTORY Function

Using Mezzi's AI Tools to Find Your Top Performers

Once your accounts are linked, Mezzi puts its AI to work, identifying the strongest performers in your portfolio.

Accessing Your Portfolio Data

After connecting your accounts, log into your Mezzi dashboard to access a unified view of your year-to-date (YTD) returns. The main portfolio display organizes your holdings, showing their current values, total gains or losses, and percentage returns - all in U.S. dollars. You can toggle between a consolidated view of all accounts or focus on individual accounts as needed.

Mezzi simplifies the process by automatically pulling data from your brokerages. This eliminates the need for manual input and ensures your YTD returns are accurate and up to date.

How AI Ranks Your Holdings by YTD Performance

Mezzi's AI ranks your investments based on YTD performance, listing them from the highest to the lowest returns. It factors in dividends, capital gains, and any associated fees, providing both dollar amounts and percentage gains for each investment.

Want a deeper dive? Use Mezzi's AI chat for tailored insights. For example, you can ask, "Which tech stock has the best YTD return?" or "Show me my top 5 performing ETFs this year." The AI delivers personalized answers based on your actual portfolio data, making it easy to pinpoint your winning investments.

To add context, Mezzi compares your returns to market benchmarks. If your top-performing stock is up 45% for the year, the AI can show how that stacks up against the S&P 500 or assess the stock's historical volatility. This insight helps you evaluate whether the performance reflects smart investing or heightened risk. These tools pave the way for actionable strategies, as discussed below.

Examples: How Mezzi Highlights Your Best Investments

When analyzing your portfolio, Mezzi presents your top performers in a way that's clear and actionable. For instance, if you own shares of NVIDIA across multiple accounts - some through a technology ETF in your 401(k) and others as individual stocks in a taxable account - Mezzi consolidates this data to show your total exposure and combined performance.

The platform's X-Ray feature goes a step further by merging holdings across accounts, giving you a true picture of your portfolio’s performance. You might discover that your biggest YTD winner is Microsoft, held directly in one account and indirectly through several ETFs in others.

Mezzi's AI also identifies trends you might overlook. It can flag sector concentration risks among your top performers, even if their returns are strong. Or it might reveal that your top-performing assets are concentrated in taxable accounts, while tax-advantaged ones are lagging - prompting a re-evaluation of your asset location strategy.

While the focus is on YTD performance, Mezzi doesn’t stop there. Its analysis also highlights consistent winners over time, helping you differentiate between long-term performers and short-term spikes that may not last. This multi-timeframe approach ensures a deeper understanding of your portfolio's strengths.

Reading Your Results and Making Investment Decisions

Understanding your year-to-date (YTD) performance is just the starting point - the real value lies in interpreting the data and using it to shape smart investment strategies.

How to Read Portfolio Rankings and Performance Data

Mezzi's ranked holdings provide essential details like dollar gains, percentage returns, and risk indicators. For each holding, you’ll see its dollar gain or loss alongside its percentage return, giving you a clear view of both its overall impact on your wealth and how it performs relative to your other investments.

If you spot high YTD gains accompanied by significant volatility, it’s a signal of increased risk. A stock with impressive returns may carry heightened uncertainty, requiring careful evaluation before making adjustments.

Tax information is another key factor. Gains in tax-advantaged accounts, like a Roth IRA, have a different impact compared to gains in taxable accounts, where capital gains taxes come into play. This distinction can influence how you manage and allocate your investments.

Benchmark comparisons are invaluable for assessing performance. For instance, if one of your tech stocks is outperforming its sector index, it’s a sign of strong performance in that area. Conversely, if your portfolio is lagging behind market indices, it might be time to reassess your asset allocation.

The platform also highlights concentration risks. If a small number of holdings are driving most of your gains, it could indicate a lack of diversification. This insight can help you decide whether to adjust your positions to spread risk more effectively.

What to Do with Your Performance Insights

Once you’ve analyzed Mezzi’s data, the next step is to translate those insights into actionable strategies for your portfolio. Here’s how you can put that information to work:

  • Rebalance your portfolio when certain holdings exceed their target allocations. Trimming these positions allows you to lock in gains and realign your investments.
  • Identify opportunities for tax-loss harvesting to offset taxable gains and improve overall tax efficiency.
  • Assess the sustainability of your top performers. Mezzi’s AI can help distinguish between companies with strong fundamentals that support long-term growth and those riding short-term market trends. This evaluation can guide your decisions on whether to hold or adjust your positions.
  • Use sector rotation insights to shift investments toward thriving industries while reducing exposure to underperforming ones.
  • Optimize tax efficiency by reviewing where your best-performing assets are held. If they’re concentrated in taxable accounts, consider redirecting future contributions to tax-advantaged accounts or relocating holdings during rebalancing.

Additionally, Mezzi’s analysis can uncover hidden correlations in your portfolio. Even if you believe your investments are diversified, overlapping exposure to similar economic trends could leave you vulnerable to unexpected risks. Recognizing these patterns can help you make more informed decisions.

Finally, keep a record of your decisions and their outcomes. Over time, this documentation will help you refine your investment strategy and make better-informed choices.

Security, Privacy, and Safe Practices

When using digital tools to track your portfolio's year-to-date returns, safeguarding your financial data is essential. Protecting this information ensures accurate portfolio insights and peace of mind. Mezzi goes a step further by offering secure account linking and robust data protection measures. By understanding these protections and following smart security practices, you can confidently manage your investments without worrying about privacy risks.

How Mezzi Protects Your Financial Data

Mezzi takes security seriously, employing multiple layers of protection to keep your sensitive information safe. The platform uses industry-leading data aggregators, ensuring that all investment data is encrypted and accessible only in a secure, read-only format.

Additionally, Mezzi incorporates advanced encryption techniques, such as homomorphic encryption. This cutting-edge approach enables the platform's AI to analyze your portfolio while keeping your account details fully encrypted and secure.

Privacy is also a key focus. Mezzi offers the option to log in with Apple, allowing you to use an anonymized email instead of sharing your primary address. Plus, Mezzi’s subscription-based model eliminates the need for ads, ensuring your data isn’t shared for advertising purposes. While these measures provide a strong foundation, there are extra steps you can take to enhance your financial data security.

Security Tips for U.S. Investors

To complement Mezzi’s built-in protections, consider these additional strategies to keep your financial information secure:

  • Enable two-factor authentication (2FA): Activate 2FA on all linked accounts, including brokerage, bank accounts, and Mezzi itself, for an added layer of security.
  • Monitor your accounts: Regularly review your accounts and set up alerts to catch any unusual activity early.
  • Use strong, unique passwords: Create strong, unique passwords for every financial account. A reputable password manager can help generate and securely store them.
  • Keep your devices secure: Update your devices with the latest security patches, use lock screens with PINs, passwords, or biometric authentication, and consider a VPN when accessing sensitive data on public Wi-Fi.
  • Review account permissions: Periodically check which third-party apps have access to your financial accounts. Revoke permissions for services you no longer use.
  • Be cautious of phishing attempts: Genuine financial platforms won’t ask for your login credentials via email or text. Always navigate directly to official websites or apps instead of clicking on unsolicited links.

Conclusion: Make Better Investment Decisions with Mezzi

Keeping track of your portfolio's year-to-date (YTD) returns has never been easier with Mezzi. By securely connecting all your accounts, Mezzi provides a single, unified view of your investments, laying the groundwork for precise AI-driven analysis.

Mezzi’s advanced AI goes beyond ranking your holdings by YTD returns. It identifies potential wash sale risks, overlapping exposures, and tax-efficient opportunities, helping you make smarter financial moves.

Instead of passively monitoring your investments, Mezzi empowers you to take action. It highlights your top-performing assets and areas that may need improvement. What once required costly financial advisors is now available through Mezzi’s subscription platform, making professional-grade insights accessible.

Your data remains secure with robust encryption and read-only access, ensuring your privacy while delivering actionable insights. By reducing advisor fees and uncovering tax-saving opportunities, Mezzi equips you with the tools to manage your finances more effectively and grow your wealth.

Success in investing comes down to informed decisions based on accurate, comprehensive data. Mezzi gives you the clarity to pinpoint your strongest assets, refine your strategy, and work toward better long-term financial results. With Mezzi, you’re in control of your financial future.

FAQs

To connect and monitor your investment accounts with Mezzi, the platform partners with well-known services like Plaid, MX, and TrueLayer. These integration tools use top-tier encryption and security protocols to safeguard your login details and personal data.

After linking your accounts, Mezzi offers a real-time, consolidated view of your portfolio. For accuracy, compare your account balances with your official statements and confirm that your holdings are properly categorized. This ensures you have a clear and dependable overview of your investments.

What are the risks of relying only on year-to-date returns when evaluating investments?

Focusing only on year-to-date (YTD) returns can paint an incomplete picture and potentially mislead investment decisions. YTD performance highlights short-term results, which are often swayed by temporary market swings or volatility. This limited perspective might cause investors to miss the bigger picture, like an asset's long-term growth potential or underlying risks.

It's also worth noting that strong YTD returns don’t promise future success. Investments that perform well in the short term can still face significant challenges, such as market corrections or broader economic downturns. To make more informed decisions, it’s essential to look beyond YTD numbers and evaluate other factors like historical performance, volatility, and how well-diversified your portfolio is.

Mezzi's AI takes a thoughtful approach to distinguishing between short-term market swings and long-term trends. By diving into historical performance data, it focuses on spotting consistent growth patterns rather than getting distracted by temporary spikes. This helps paint a clearer picture of how your portfolio performs over time, ensuring insights are grounded in sustained results.

The AI also factors in the timing of deposits and withdrawals, analyzing whether shifts in your portfolio stem from short-term market moves or align with a broader, long-term investment strategy. This method provides a more precise view of your portfolio's actual performance, cutting through the noise to focus on what truly matters.

Related Blog Posts

Table of Contents

Text Link

Book Free Consultation

Walk through Mezzi with our team, review your current situation, and ask any questions you may have.

Book Free Consultation
Ask ChatGPT about Mezzi