Providing greater clarity and control

Since the inception of smallcase, we have continuously strived to empower you to invest with complete transparency. We have been adding features toward this goal and a detailed list of already released features is at the end of this post. 

To help you understand a smallcase & its returns better, we have made the following improvements this time:

1. Introducing XIRR

XIRR has been one of the most asked for features by our users. We have now started showing the XIRR of your invested smallcases. It can be accessed from the investment details page on the app/website.

XIRR helps you better understand the returns generated by your smallcases. It considers all the changes like rebalances executed by you, SIPs, dividends received, withdrawals made etc.

However, if your investment period is less than a year, Absolute Returns should be your go-to number, and XIRR won’t be available.

2. Past performance chart of a smallcase is now on live data only

Already, smallcase returns, ratios and volatility labels are calculated based on the live data generated post the launch of a smallcase. 

We still used to show the backtested data in the Past Performance charts of smallcases, as it used to help users analyze the strategy performance across longer time periods. Now, we have completely removed the backtested data from the Past Performance charts as well, to ensure that you don’t get confused between the live and backtested data while looking at the Past Performance chart. 

Now, all the charts and numbers shown anywhere on the platform are only based on live data. If you are still keen to see the historical backtested data of the smallcase, as calculated by the manager, you can find it on the factsheet of the smallcase.   

3. Introducing rebalance timeline

Rebalance timeline (which is visible on the stocks and weights tab of every smallcase) gives you the visibility of the entire rebalance history of a smallcase. You can see all the details like dates & constituent changes of the latest rebalances, along with when to expect your next rebalance update. 

A downloadable CSV is also available, which includes the historical constituents (stocks/ETFs) of a smallcase between all the rebalance dates and the full history of index value since launch. 

This information is one of the most significant steps we have taken toward transparency, as using this data, every number or chart shown on the platform can be easily cross-checked. 

4. Cost calculator improvements

Cost calculator helps you understand how much returns you could have made after adjusting for all the costs associated with investing in a smallcase. It can be accessed just below the past performance chart of a smallcase. 

Based on the feedback received from our users, we have simplified the calculation and presentation of cost adjusted returns. As seen in the image below, now you can easily check cost adjusted returns on your overall investment including subscription and transaction charges. 

Cost calculator is currently available on the smallcase app. We are working on bringing this entire experience to the smallcase website in the coming weeks. Stay tuned!

5. Updated logic for return calculations  

We are updating the way a rebalance impacts the manager’s smallcase performance. In the previous logic of calculating the impact of a rebalance on the smallcase performance, we were using the end of day prices of stocks/ETFs of the same day when the rebalance was issued by the manager(let’s call it T0). But you could only apply rebalance updates the next day post-market open (say T1). As the prices of stocks and ETFs change between T0 & T1, it would cause deviation in terms of performance between a smallcase and the actual returns generated by your investment.
Now the performance will be calculated based on the average prices of the next day (T1), instead of T0 prices. You can check the updated return calculation logic in detail here

6. More information without logging in

We understand that in certain situations, you might want to have more information without actually logging in to the smallcase platform.

Every time you view a smallcase, you will now be able to see the number of stocks/ETFs present in a smallcase, see the rebalance frequency, the past & next rebalance dates, all of this without the need of logging in.

These changes are our leap towards making smallcase more transparent & a trusted choice for your investment goals. We’re always available at help@smallcase.com.

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Here’s a quick recap of the measures we have taken in the past:

– Around the last quarter of 2019, as a first step, we introduced financial ratios, market cap distribution of the stocks/ETFs, along with detailed factsheets for each smallcase. Read about it in more detail here.

– Last year, in March, the focus was to completely move away from using any backtested data in calculations and instead highlight essential parameters of a smallcase like the CAGR and Volatility. Read more here.

– Three months after the above updates,  we made changes to make CAGR more relevant and contextual. We added time labels and filters, including one for comparing smallcases based on returns. Understand these features better.

– Around the end of last year, we introduced a tool that helped you understand every fee charged when you invest in a smallcase. Read about cost-calculator.