Use portfolio rules to review a long-term plan

Portle checks your own investing rules against your ledger every time it refreshes. You write a rule as a sentence, such as “Keep at least 5% in cash” or “Show when any position exceeds 20% of the portfolio”, review the converted rule, and save it. Home then shows each rule as on plan, caution, or off plan, with the current value beside it. Portle reports the condition. It does not place orders or tell you what to do.

What makes an investing rule checkable?

Price alerts track the market. Portfolio rules track choices you can control, such as a minimum cash balance, a maximum position size, or a limit on one sector. A ledger can measure those values without trying to predict prices.

Use conditions that Portle can calculate from your ledger and delayed quotes. “One position must stay under 30% of the portfolio” is measurable. “Sell if the market feels expensive” is not. A warning reports the condition; the decision remains yours.

How do I write a rule in Portle?

Open Rules and describe the rule in one sentence, the way you would say it out loud. One sentence makes one rule. Portle converts the sentence into what to watch, a condition, and a number, and shows you the result before anything is saved. If the sentence cannot become a rule, Portle says so and shows examples of what it can check.

A condition is one of three kinds: at most, at least, or around a target. Saved rules are stored with your ledger. When the ledger is a Google Sheet, they sit in a Rules tab that you can open and edit yourself.

How do I set cash limits and position size rules?

A cash rule is a floor, such as cash share at least 5% of the portfolio. A position rule is a ceiling, such as one holding at most 20%. Portle can measure the share of a holding, a sector, a currency, or an account, so the same ceiling works for “tech at most 40%” or “USD at most 70%”. To limit a leveraged ETF, write a ceiling on that holding.

Choose the values from your own plan and do not copy a generic percentage. Each rule has a caution band. Inside the band the rule shows caution, and beyond it the rule shows off plan. Leave the band blank to use the default.

A rule does not block a trade, because Portle does not place or stop orders. It shows the breach on Home at every refresh until the portfolio is back inside the limit, along with the amount needed to get back to plan.

How do I monitor target weights and rebalancing drift?

Use an “around” rule for a target weight, such as “Keep VOO near 30%”. The band sets how far the weight may drift before the rule leaves on plan. Write one rule for each holding, sector, currency, or account that has a target.

When a weight drifts outside the band, Portle shows that it is off its target, the current weight, and the amount that would bring it back to plan. Portle does not rebalance for you and does not suggest trades.

What else can a rule watch?

Beyond weights, a rule can watch the deepest fall from a peak, the same fall with deposits and withdrawals removed, returns over one month, three months, this year, or one year, one-year volatility, dividends over the last 12 months, realized gain this calendar year, and the days since you last reconciled the ledger.

You can set a drawdown level that prompts a review. State clearly whether the threshold is a review condition or an instruction to act. Portle only checks the rule you write.

What happens when a rule is off plan?

The Signals card on Home shows the sentence you chose for that rule, its status, and the current value. A rule that cannot be measured, for example because a holding has no price, shows as unknown and not as on plan.

A rule row that Portle cannot read is listed with its row number and the reason. A rule you wrote is never skipped without telling you.

How do past records help when a rule is triggered?

When a drawdown rule is triggered, compare the current record with similar periods from the past. Echoes shows how the market and your portfolio moved during the following 90 days, along with the transactions you recorded at the time.

Historical comparisons do not predict the next 90 days. They give you a consistent record to review alongside your current plan.

Does Portle tell me what to buy or sell?

No. Portle is not a broker and does not give investment advice. Rules are thresholds you set, measured from your ledger and delayed quotes. Portle shows the status, and you decide what to do about it.

Because rules read the ledger, they are only as good as the records. Check that position quantities and cash match your broker before relying on a rule. A rule such as “Reconcile once a quarter” keeps that check on schedule.