Monitoring Lab Guide
Complete guide to automated portfolio monitoring and drift detection
Create Monitoring Set
Combine them for automated tracking
Pro Feature Required
Monitoring Lab is available for Pro subscribers. Upgrade to unlock automated portfolio monitoring, drift detection, and scheduled checks.
Monitoring Lab is an automated portfolio monitoring system that tracks how stocks in your watchlist perform against your screener criteria over time. It helps you identify portfolio drift and ensures your investments continue to meet your strategy requirements.
By combining any screener (your investment criteria) with any watchlist (your stocks), you create a "monitoring set" that automatically checks which stocks still meet your criteria and alerts you when they drift away. This is essential for maintaining discipline in systematic investing.
Automate
Scheduled checks (daily, weekly, monthly)
Track
Monitor portfolio drift over time
Alert
Get notified when stocks drift from criteria
Monitoring Lab works by creating "monitoring sets" that link a screener (criteria) with a watchlist (stocks to monitor). Here's the complete workflow:
1Create a Monitoring Set
Select a screener that defines your investment criteria (e.g., "Quality Growth Stocks")
Select a watchlist containing the stocks you want to monitor (e.g., "My Tech Portfolio")
Choose a schedule: daily, weekly, or monthly automated checks
The monitoring set is now created and ready to run
2Run Monitoring Checks
Execute a monitoring run manually or wait for scheduled execution
Each stock in the watchlist is evaluated against all screener criteria
Results show which stocks PASS (meet criteria) and which FAIL (don't meet criteria)
Detailed breakdown shows which specific criteria each stock passes or fails
3Compare Historical Runs
View historical monitoring runs to see how your portfolio evolved
Compare two runs to see delta: which stocks entered or exited criteria
Identify trends: stocks consistently passing vs. stocks drifting away
Make informed decisions based on objective, historical data
4Receive Alerts
Get email notifications when stocks enter or exit your criteria
Stay informed without constantly checking manually
React quickly to portfolio drift before it impacts returns
Example Scenario
Screener: "Quality Dividend" (ROE > 15%, Div Yield > 3%, Payout Ratio < 70%)
Watchlist: "Retirement Portfolio" (15 dividend stocks)
Monday's check: 12 stocks pass, 3 stocks fail
Next Monday: 11 stocks pass, 4 stocks fail
Delta: Stock XYZ moved from PASS → FAIL (ROE dropped to 12%)
Action: You receive an alert and can investigate why XYZ's ROE declined
Monitoring Lab sits at the intersection of screeners and watchlists, creating a powerful feedback loop for systematic investing.
From Screeners
Any saved screener can be used in monitoring sets. Navigate to a screener detail page and click "Create Monitoring Set" to link it with a watchlist. This turns your one-time screening criteria into ongoing portfolio validation.
Learn About ScreenersFrom Watchlists
Any watchlist can be monitored against screener criteria. Build your watchlist by adding stocks from the Stock Browser, then combine it with a screener to track portfolio drift. Perfect for validating that your holdings still meet your investment thesis.
Learn About WatchlistsComplete Workflow
1. Discovery: Use Stock Browser to find stocks with screener filters
2. Collection: Add interesting stocks to a watchlist
3. Validation: Save the screener criteria
4. Monitoring: Create monitoring set linking screener + watchlist
5. Maintenance: Get ongoing reports showing which holdings still qualify
Portfolio Drift Detection
Problem: You own 12 tech stocks that were "high-growth" when you bought them, but you don't track whether they still meet your growth criteria.
Solution: Create a "High Growth" screener (Revenue growth > 15%, P/E < 30, ROE > 25%), link it to your "Tech Portfolio" watchlist, and get weekly reports showing which stocks still qualify. When a stock's revenue growth drops to 8%, you get an alert to investigate.
Quality Control for Dividend Portfolio
Problem: You invest in dividend stocks for income, but don't monitor whether dividends are sustainable or if payout ratios have become dangerous.
Solution: Create a "Sustainable Dividend" screener (Yield > 3%, Payout < 70%, 5yr Div Growth > 0%), monitor your "Retirement Income" watchlist monthly. Get alerts when a stock's payout ratio climbs above 70% - a red flag for potential dividend cuts.
Strategy Validation
Problem: You have an investment thesis but no systematic way to validate it's working over time.
Solution: Define your thesis as a screener, build a watchlist of candidates, and track over months. Compare historical runs to see: Are stocks that pass your criteria consistently outperforming those that fail? This data-driven approach validates (or disproves) your investment strategy.
Sell Signal Detection
Problem: You're disciplined about buy criteria but have no systematic sell process.
Solution: Your buy criteria can be your sell criteria. If a stock no longer meets the criteria that made you buy it, that's a signal to re-evaluate. Monitoring Lab automates this check, helping you maintain discipline on both sides of the trade.
Monitoring Sets
Link any screener with any watchlist. Create unlimited monitoring sets for different strategies and portfolio segments.
Scheduled Checks
Choose daily, weekly, or monthly automated checks. Set it and forget it - monitoring runs automatically on your schedule.
Run Comparison
Compare two monitoring runs to see delta: which stocks entered criteria, which exited, and which stayed consistent.
Detailed Breakdown
See exactly which criteria each stock passes or fails. Drill down to understand why a stock is drifting from your strategy.
Historical Tracking
All monitoring runs are preserved. Track trends over weeks, months, or years to understand portfolio evolution.
Email Notifications
Get instant alerts when stocks drift from criteria. Stay informed without constantly checking manually.
Monitoring Lab is a Pro feature that provides advanced portfolio monitoring and drift detection capabilities. Pro users get complete access to automated tracking and historical analysis.
What's Included with Pro
- Unlimited monitoring sets: Track multiple portfolios and strategies
- Automated scheduled checks: Daily, weekly, or monthly execution
- Unlimited history: Access all historical monitoring runs forever
- Email notifications: Get alerts when stocks drift from criteria
- Run comparisons: Delta analysis between any two monitoring runs
- Detailed breakdowns: See which specific criteria each stock passes/fails
Why Monitoring Lab is Pro-Only
Monitoring Lab requires significant computational resources to continuously evaluate portfolios against complex criteria. The scheduled checks, historical storage, and email notifications represent ongoing infrastructure costs that are covered by Pro subscriptions. This ensures we can provide reliable, scalable monitoring for serious investors.
Setting Up Monitoring Sets
- Start with clear, well-defined screener criteria (3-7 criteria is ideal)
- Keep watchlists focused - 10-20 stocks per monitoring set works best
- Choose check frequency based on investment style (active: daily, passive: monthly)
- Name monitoring sets descriptively (e.g., "Tech Growth - High ROE Check")
Interpreting Results
- Focus on trends, not single runs - one failure doesn't mean immediate action
- Compare runs over time to identify persistent vs. temporary drift
- Drill into specific criteria failures to understand root causes
- Use monitoring as a signal to investigate, not an automatic sell trigger
Advanced Strategies
- Create multiple monitoring sets for the same watchlist with different criteria
- Use strict criteria for existing holdings and looser criteria for watchlist candidates
- Set up "early warning" monitoring sets with criteria slightly below your sell thresholds
- Compare monitoring results against stock performance to validate your criteria
Remember
Monitoring Lab helps maintain discipline but doesn't replace fundamental analysis
Markets change - periodically review whether your criteria still make sense
Use historical data to refine your screening criteria over time
Prerequisites
To use Monitoring Lab, you need:
- A Pro subscription
- At least one saved screener (your investment criteria)
- At least one watchlist (your stocks to monitor)
Related Documentation
Ready to Start Monitoring?
Upgrade to Pro to unlock Monitoring Lab and start tracking your portfolio systematically with automated drift detection.