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Building and tracking your own index, explained
Guides and practical playbooks for building a weighted index, backtesting it against real market history, mixing stocks and crypto in one basket, and tracking it against the S&P 500, the Nasdaq 100, or BTC. Educational and informational only, never investment advice.
Are Crypto Index Funds Worth It? Fees vs Building Your Own
Whether a crypto index fund is worth it depends on fees, Bitcoin concentration, and whether building your own basket suits you better.
Read articleCrypto Index Fund vs Bitcoin: Should You Diversify?
Compare a crypto index fund vs Bitcoin, why cap-weighted baskets track BTC, and how to backtest diversification against Bitcoin.
Read articleCapitalization-Weighted Index: What It Is and How It Works
A capitalization-weighted index weights each company by its market value, so the largest names drive the level. How it works, a worked example, the concentration risk it creates, and how it compares with equal weighting.
Read articleHow Often Are Index Funds Rebalanced? Schedules Explained
Index funds rebalance when their underlying index does, usually quarterly for the S&P 500 and once a year for the Russell indexes. The real schedules, why funds do not rebalance daily, and what it means for your taxes.
Read articleDirect Indexing Tax Loss Harvesting: How It Works and What It Is Worth
How direct indexing tax loss harvesting works, the wash-sale rules that quietly delete the benefit, what a harvested loss is actually worth at 23.8%, and whether it beats the fee.
Read articleCan You Do Direct Indexing Yourself? A Realistic Answer
Yes, and at a modest account size you probably should. What DIY direct indexing involves, what you give up versus a managed provider, the four ways it goes wrong, and where the line sits.
Read articleHow Much Does Direct Indexing Cost? Fees and Minimums Compared
Direct indexing costs 0.09% to 0.40% a year with minimums from $5,000 to $100,000. The published fees at Fidelity, Schwab, Wealthfront and Frec, what they cost in dollars, and the costs nobody lists.
Read articleIs Direct Indexing Worth It? The Math, Run Honestly
Direct indexing pays off only when harvested tax losses beat the fee premium. The break-even math at every account size, the three things that quietly break it, and who it actually suits.
Read articleWhat Is Direct Indexing? A Plain-English Guide
What direct indexing is, how it differs from buying an index fund, who it suits, and how building your own weighted basket lets you tune and track an index yourself.
Read articleHow to Build Your Own Index Fund, Step by Step
How to build your own index fund from a rulebook: pick a universe, choose a weighting scheme, set rebalancing rules, backtest the history, and track it against a benchmark.
Read articleHow to Backtest a Portfolio: A Step-by-Step Guide
How to backtest a portfolio honestly: define the rules, choose a period, apply weights and rebalancing, and read the hypothetical results without fooling yourself.
Read articleWeighted Index Calculation: How Index Values Are Computed
Weighted index calculation explained with worked examples: market-cap, price, and equal weighting, the index divisor, and how a daily index level is actually computed.
Read articleHow to Create a Custom Index From Scratch
How to create a custom index: write a rulebook for the universe, weighting, and rebalancing, set a base value, backtest it, and track the level against a benchmark.
Read articleMarket Cap vs Equal Weight Index: Which Weighting Wins?
Market cap vs equal weight index weighting compared: concentration, rebalancing, turnover, and factor tilts, plus how to backtest both on the same basket to see the trade-offs.
Read articleIndex Rebalancing Explained: Why, When, and How Often
Index rebalancing explained: why weights drift, how reconstitution differs from rebalancing, common schedules and bands, and how rebalancing shows up in a backtest.
Read articleThematic Investing Examples: 12 Themes and How to Track Them
Thematic investing examples across AI, clean energy, cybersecurity, and more, with how to turn a theme into a weighted basket you can backtest and track over time.
Read articleHow to Compare a Portfolio to a Benchmark the Right Way
How to compare a portfolio to a benchmark: pick a fair benchmark, align the dates, and read active return, tracking error, beta, and drawdown instead of just the headline number.
Read articleHow to Build a Custom Crypto Index Fund You Can Track
How to build a custom crypto index: choose the coins, pick a weighting scheme, cap concentration, set rebalancing, and backtest and track the basket against BTC.
Read articleBacktesting Mistakes to Avoid (and How to Backtest Honestly)
The backtesting mistakes that make results look better than they are, from lookahead bias and survivorship to overfitting, and how to run a backtest you can trust.
Read articleDirect Indexing vs ETF: Which Is Right for You?
Direct indexing vs ETF compared on control, customization, cost, taxes, and effort, so you can decide when to hold a fund and when to run your own index instead.
Read articlePut it into practice
Build a weighted index of stocks or crypto and watch it backtest against real market history in minutes. Prosumer pricing, cancel anytime. Educational and informational only, never a trade.