How to read a paper portfolio record
A stock ranking and a portfolio result answer different questions. Read the rule, dates, and benchmark before deciding what a paper record shows.
1. Identify the rule
Pontis has an overnight paper account, a monthly forward portfolio record, and historical simulations. These are separate records. An overnight ranking is a model output; it is not a personal instruction to buy a stock. Do not combine results from different rules or time windows into one return claim.
2. Compare the same dates
The overnight paper account is shown beside a price-only SPY hold over the same period. Price-only means the SPY figure excludes dividends. A different start date, end date, or dividend treatment would change the comparison. Check the basis stated beside the result rather than assuming it is a total-return benchmark.
3. Ask what the paper calculation leaves out
Paper results are not realized investor returns. Spreads, fees, taxes, missed fills, and execution timing may change what a person could actually obtain. Historical simulations are hypothetical and should remain distinct from forward paper data.
4. Read an edition as a dated publication
A research edition should show its original release time and preserve the version that readers received. Pontis's planned monthly editions and delayed free archive need to be judged against their actual published schedule when those features are available. The paper record does not prove an edition was delivered to subscribers.
Questions to ask
- Which rule and dates does this result cover?
- Does the SPY hold use the same dates and include dividends?
- Which costs and execution limits are excluded?
- Is this historical, forward paper, or a realized investor return?
Pontis Portfolios publishes general research. It does not manage accounts or place trades, and its output is not tailored to a reader's finances.
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