Smart research, integrated trading, low margins, high value.

Ashok strongly favors fundamental research over technical analysis, though both, of course, are available. A believer in margin as a key means of underwriting his investments, Ashok was first drawn to PortfolioAnalyst’s parent, Interactive Brokers, for its low margin rates and commissions. Soon after registration, he discovered PortfolioAnalyst and quickly found himself using it daily.

Nice and easy: pro tools, customizable reports, fast starts.

“IBKR’s low margins and commissions may have grabbed me first, but PortfolioAnalyst’s excellent tools and customizable reports opened a whole new world of possibilities right away.”

Ashok credits the combined strength of PortfolioAnalyst and IBKR as a key factor in his decision to share his investment acumen with others. Shifting from personal investor to hedge fund manager was, in his words, “easy and smooth.”

“Transferring historical data from my entity account (Sahdev LLC) to a hedge fund account was crucial in maintaining a performance track record since inception. The transfer process was simple where from day one we were able to build marketing and prospecting materials. There’s an impressive variety of reports you can customize with a couple of clicks.”

He also notes that the platform expedites the process of returns reconciliation with his fund administrator.

Management, marketing and GIPS® certification.

“Performance reporting is pivotal for both management and marketing, but it’s still a combination of art and science. Even experts don’t agree. But this platform gives us so many choices — time-weighted, money-weighted, past performance and so on. We can show performance from so many angles; whatever a client or expert wants to see.” He notes the importance of PortfolioAnalyst’s GIPS® certification, citing it as objective confirmation that his performance reporting meets or exceeds the highest standards.

“Success in this community requires proof of integrity. Nothing matters more to me, and GIPS® certification is a new way to make it tangible.”

Multi-currency + global products = true diversification.

Ashok invests internationally, in several different currencies. He notes the variety of global products that are tradeable on IBKR’s platforms, and highlights the ease with which PortfolioAnalyst consolidates, tracks and analyzes them to present a holistic picture of his fund’s activity at any moment.

“Diversification is central to my fund, and without a strong portfolio management platform it’s quite possible to lose sight of the big picture. PortfolioAnalyst makes it easy to track my positions, either as a whole or in parts, across instruments and regions. That’s why I give PortfolioAnalyst and IBKR credit for making it pretty easy to shift from running a personal account to running a hedge fund.”

Risk analysis, intra-day tracking, strategy and learning.

Then there’s risk. “Risk is similar to performance in that there’s no consensus about what metrics are most meaningful. PortfolioAnalyst offers so many risk measures that it’s a simple matter to create reports that cover the full spectrum of client expectations. We also use the reports daily for in-house tracking”

Ashok adds that his team also uses IBKR’s sophisticated training platform, Trader’s Academy, as one way to stay current with the ins and outs of new instruments and trading strategies. And with their focus on fundamentals and absolute returns, he and his team use PortfolioAnalyst to track intra-day gains and losses, monitor margin exposure, conduct research and generate the myriad of reports they need, a number of which are custom-designed.

Portability, flexibility, convenience and confidence.

Ashok notes PortfolioAnalyst’s convenience and flexibility. “Most of the time I access the platform on a tablet, not a desktop. Life is so much easier now that I can carry my portfolio wherever I go.”

He’s optimistic about the future of his hedge fund, which launched in September.

“PortfolioAnalyst does an excellent job for me – and that makes it easier for me to do the same for my clients.”