# Portfolio Optimizer Pro

> A free portfolio checkup that grades a mix of funds and companies A+ to F on structure, cost and past risk, and explains exactly why. Only in the paid report: historical stress periods (2008, 2020 and 2022, where your history covers them) and rolling 5- and 10-year comparisons with SPY and RSP for your exact mix; risk contribution by holding and a walk-forward test on unseen years (2+ holdings); side-by-side hypothetical mixes (2+ holdings); a score explorer re-running your grade with 10% slices of broad exposures; return sensitivity; and a dated PDF/CSV snapshot of your exact holdings and weights. The grade and its full breakdown, fees, category overlap, the growth chart and the basic benchmark table stay free.

The free checkup measures diversification (company concentration, international share, fund-category overlap), risk fit (past volatility and worst drop against a reference band), cost (weighted expense ratio from dated issuer records) and long-run efficiency, using adjusted monthly total-return history aligned to the longest common history of the holdings. Educational and hypothetical only. This describes structure, cost and past risk; it is not a forecast or advice.

How the grade works:

Portfolio Optimizer Pro grades a portfolio's structure, cost and past risk on a 0–100 scale mapped to letters A+ to F. Four factors are scored, averaged, then limited by structural ceilings.

- Diversification: How the money is spread across broad funds, single companies, regions and fund categories, from fund mandates and your weights. A range needs 90+.
- Risk and past drops: Whether past volatility and the worst historical drop stayed within the reference band for your chosen risk level. A range needs 90+.
- Cost: What the funds charge each year, weighted by how much of the mix each fund is. A range needs 90+.
- Long-run efficiency: Long-run return per unit of risk under published assumptions, compared with a reference mix of broad funds at the same risk. A range needs 95.4+.

Measured sub-scores are averaged with equal weight (25% each when all four are measured); missing ones are left out, never counted as perfect. If any A range criterion is unmet, each point above 80 counts 0.45, so the score stays in 80–89. When every criterion is met, each point below 100 costs 3. A+ also needs every sub-score at 95+. The lowest applicable ceiling below then applies.

Structural ceilings (the lowest that applies limits the score):
- Single companies above 30% of the mix in total, or one company above 10%: 79 (C+)
- One company above 25% / 95% or more: 69 (D) / 50 (F)
- Only single companies (3 or fewer) with one above 35%: 50 (F)
- US-only stocks: stocks above 30% of the mix, more than 95% US, no international or global fund: 79 (C+)
- Known fund-category overlap (similar mandates, not measured shared holdings): 76 (C)
- Weighted fee of 0.5% a year or more: 76 (C)
- Cash above 95% of the mix (Conservative: 92): 75 (C)
- Conservative risk level with no identified bonds or cash: 75 (C)
- Leveraged or inverse funds above 10% / 50% or more: 69 (D) / 50 (F)
- Crypto above 20%: 69 (D)
- One narrow sector above 50%: 69 (D)
- Partial input (some holdings unavailable): 76 (C)
- Less than 12 months of history: 80 (B-)
- Missing data: unknown fund, unverified fee, risk or long-run efficiency not measured (no A range grade): 89 (B+)
- Any A range criterion not met: 89 (B+)

A range criteria (all required):
- Diversification 90+ with at least 30% of stocks international or global
- Weighted fee 0.10% a year or less
- No known fund-category overlap
- Risk and past drops (risk fit) 90+ for the chosen risk level
- Long-run efficiency 95.4+

Letter bands: F 0–60, D 60–70, C 70–80, B 80–90, A 90–100.

Data: Adjusted monthly total-return history (Tiingo, with a cached fallback), aligned to the longest common history of all holdings; issuer reference records for fund categories and fees. Only derived results are returned.

Pricing: The checkup and A–F grade are free. Deep Analysis is a $12 one-time, dated snapshot report for the exact holdings and weights (credited toward a first Pro payment within 14 days). Pro is $15/month or $129/year.

## Docs

- [Methodology](https://portfoliooptimizerpro.com/methodology): every formula, ceiling, threshold and data source, with a worked example.
- [Full methodology text](https://portfoliooptimizerpro.com/llms-full.txt): the grading rules and FAQ as plain text.
- [Use from an AI assistant](https://portfoliooptimizerpro.com/ai): MCP server, setup for Claude and ChatGPT, tools, privacy.
- [OpenAPI spec](https://portfoliooptimizerpro.com/openapi.json): the same tools as a JSON API under /api/public/agent/.
- [Pricing](https://portfoliooptimizerpro.com/pricing): free checkup, $12 report and Pro.

## Tools

- [Free portfolio checkup](https://portfoliooptimizerpro.com/dashboard): Enter holdings and weights; get the A–F grade with the full "why this grade" breakdown.
- [Expense ratio calculator](https://portfoliooptimizerpro.com/expense-ratio-calculator): Weighted fund fee and its cost over 10 and 30 years.
- [Fund overlap checker](https://portfoliooptimizerpro.com/fund-overlap-checker): Category-based overlap between fund mandates.
- [ETF overlap checker](https://portfoliooptimizerpro.com/tools/etf-overlap-checker): Compare ETF mandates for related exposure.
- [Portfolio analyzer](https://portfoliooptimizerpro.com/tools/portfolio-analyzer): Risk, return history and correlation for a mix.
- [Portfolio risk checker](https://portfoliooptimizerpro.com/tools/portfolio-risk-checker): Volatility and worst historical drop for a mix.
- [Correlation calculator](https://portfoliooptimizerpro.com/tools/correlation-calculator): Monthly return correlation between holdings.
- [Asset allocation calculator](https://portfoliooptimizerpro.com/tools/asset-allocation-calculator): Stock, bond and cash split of a mix.
- [Sample report](https://portfoliooptimizerpro.com/sample-report): A real, labelled example of the paid Deep Analysis report.

## Questions

- [Are VOO and VTI redundant?](https://portfoliooptimizerpro.com/are-voo-and-vti-redundant): VOO and VTI had a 0.996 monthly return correlation from November 2010 to September 2026 (191 monthly returns), indicating closely related historical movement.
- [Does QQQ add diversification to VOO?](https://portfoliooptimizerpro.com/does-qqq-add-diversification-to-voo): VOO and QQQ had a 0.91 monthly return correlation from November 2010 to September 2026 (191 monthly returns), indicating closely related historical movement rather than an independent return stream.
- [How correlated are dividend ETFs?](https://portfoliooptimizerpro.com/how-correlated-are-dividend-etfs): Across SCHD, VYM, DGRO, VIG, HDV and NOBL, pairwise monthly return correlations ranged from 0.84 to 0.98 from August 2014 to September 2026 (146 monthly returns).
- [What is portfolio correlation and why does it matter?](https://portfoliooptimizerpro.com/what-is-portfolio-correlation): Correlation measures how two return series move together, from −1 to +1. For example, VTI and BND had a 0.26 monthly return correlation from June 2007 to September 2026 (232 monthly returns).

## Agent access

- [MCP server](https://portfoliooptimizerpro.com/mcp): streamable HTTP, no login. Tools: grade_portfolio(holdings: [{ticker, weight}]) returns a+ to F structural grade, 0–100 score, any ceiling applied, each factor's sub-score and measured fact, top findings, data dates and a link to the same graded checkup on the site. fund_fee_cost(holdings: [{ticker, weight}]) returns weighted expense ratio from dated issuer records and the fee cost over 10 and 30 years on $100K, same formula as the expense ratio calculator. check_overlap(holdings: [{ticker, weight}]) returns known index overlap and related fund mandates, labelled as category-based rather than measured shared holdings. explain_grading(none) returns the factors, scoring rules, caps, thresholds, letter bands and data source behind the grade.
- [Setup and privacy](https://portfoliooptimizerpro.com/ai): No account or login. Holdings you send are processed only to compute the result and are not stored. We keep daily counts of tool calls by tool and the app name the assistant reports, and of new price lookups, never holdings, names or emails; call limits use a one-way keyed hash of the network address, deleted after about two days.

## Optional

- [Insights](https://portfoliooptimizerpro.com/insights): educational articles on diversification, risk and fees.
- [Privacy policy](https://portfoliooptimizerpro.com/privacy)
- [Terms](https://portfoliooptimizerpro.com/terms)