What-If Portfolios

The What-if portfolio feature lets you create an editable, hypothetical portfolio based on your actual portfolio. This allows you to "make changes" to your portfolio, including adding, closing, reducing or increasing positions, to see how your risk profile would change. Additionally, you can check your margin requirements on the portfolio.

You may build a new hypothetical portfolio, position-by-position, to see how the risk profile changes as positions are added and modified. You may also create an order from within a What-if portfolio that will fill on an exchange. For details, see Create Orders from a What If Portfolio.

What-if portfolios are outlined in red for easy identification.

To Create a "What-If" Scenario Based on Your Portfolio

1. For Mosaic - Click the New Window button in the top left corner.

   For Classic TWS - Click the Analytical Tools menu across the top of the page.

2. Type Risk Navigator in the search field and select Open New What-If.

   • Alternatively, you may open the Risk Navigator window and select the Portfolio menu followed by New.

3. Specify whether or not you want to base the hypothetical portfolio on your existing portfolio.

   • If yes, all of your current positions will download to the new What-if.

   • If no, you will see a blank window and can addition positions by clicking the green "New" field or dragging and dropping contracts from your main window.

1 - Dashboard shows margin, P&L and other key account values

2 - Red line identifies a "what-if" portfolio

3 - Double-click the position to make the value editable, and increase or decrease the position.

4 - Click "New" to add a contract

To Save a What-If Portfolio

1. On the Portfolio menu select Save As.

2. Enter a file name and click Save.

To Add or Modify "What-If" Cash Positions

1. Select the P&L tab.

2. From the Report table, expand the Cash section.

3. Click the position cell for a given currency, enter the new amount, and press "Enter."

4. To add a new currency, use the right-click menu and select Add new Cash Position.

5. Choose the currency and click OK.

   You should see that the new currency is now available in the Cash section of the P&L tab, and you can edit the Position size.

To Create a Position in a New Currency

1. Use the right-click menu and select Add New Cash Position.

   

2. Select a currency and click OK.

3. You should see that the new currency is now available in the Cash section of the P&L tab, and you can edit the Position size.

To Reload the Last Saved Version

Use this command to reset all values in the active portfolio to the last saved version. This command only works on an unsaved file. An unsaved portfolio will display an asterisk "*" at the end of the title.

1. On the Edit menu select Reload from file.

2. Confirm that you want to reload the file and lose all of your unsaved changes by clicking Yes.

To Add / Subtract Positions from Other Portfolio Files

1. From the active portfolio, on the Edit menu select Add From or Subtract From.

2. Select a portfolio to add/subtract. The add/subtract selection list only displays names of portfolios that are currently open.

3. Click OK to add or subtract positions from the active portfolio.

   • The add/subtract feature nets out positions common to both portfolios, and creates a contract line for each new contract (even if the position is "0").

   • You can add/subtract the same portfolio multiple times. Current positions are netted out each time.

To Add One New Contract

1. Click NEW and enter the underlying symbol.

   

2. Define the asset.

3. Specify the position.

   

The What-If portfolio allows you to create and fine-tune hypothetical "positions" in a risk-free environment. You can then create a similar position in your actual portfolio using the Trade feature in the what-if.

When you initiate an order from a what-if position, Risk Navigator will create an order in TWS such that its execution will result in a position that mimics the what-if position. This means that if you create an order on an underlying in which you already hold a position, the quantity for the order will be calculated to accommodate the current position. For example, if you currently hold a long position of 100 in IBKR and you create a trade from the IBKR what-if position of 700, the order quantity in TWSwill be for 600 shares.

To Create an Order from a What-If Portfolio

1. Ensure that the position on which you want to base the order is checked using the Include/Exclude box.

2. Ensure that the Trade column is displayed. Use the Metrics menu to display the column.

3. Check the Trade box for the position you want to create.

4. Click the Trade button in the top right corner to create the order(s).

   The order is created in TWS. You will need to review and transmit the order to complete the trade.

   

   1 - Check to activate a what-if position and include it in the risk calculations. Exclude positions are grayed out and cannot be traded.

   2 - Click the Trade button to create orders in TWS

   3 - Check any included positions that you want to trade.

When you open a saved "what-if" portfolio that includes expired positions, you can elect to have Risk Navigator transform these positions into deliverables according to the settlement procedure. For example, an expired at-the-money IBM option position would be replaced by the proper amount of IBM stock and cash.

To transform expired positions to deliverables, say "Yes" to the transform message.

To always have the system transform expired what-if positions, check "Remember my decision."

If you have an expired position in your actual portfolio, you can elect to have Risk Navigator create a new what-if portfolio populated with your existing positions, and it will transform expired positions as noted in the new what-if.