Allocation bands

An allocation band is a rule on one asset class: how much of your total portfolio value it can hold, as a percent range you set. A band is the rule for a class; a size range is the rule for one holding.

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Setting a band

To set a band, open Allocation, then the Rules tab, and choose Add rule (or edit an existing row). Pick the asset class, then enter a minimum and a maximum under Allocation band, for example 44% to 67% for Equities (a fictional example).

• The minimum must be below the maximum. Allocait refuses a band whose two numbers are equal or reversed. A band of 0 to 0 is the one exception and means none of the class.
• A target is an optional aim point inside the band. It needs a band.
• A class can have no band if it has a size range. Allocait then checks each holding and not the class total, and the Rules table reads No band.
• A rules text can give only a minimum or only a maximum. That page lists what Allocait fills in for the edge you leave out.

The Rules tab shows what your targets add up to, and says so when targets or minimums add up to more than the portfolio holds. That is a fact about your numbers. Allocait doesn’t change them.

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How Allocait checks it

For each asset class with a band, Allocait sums the current value of every holding in that class and compares it to the band. A short is a negative value, so it subtracts from its class, and a class total below zero counts as 0: Each class with a band reads In range, Below min or Above max. A class with no band reads Not monitored, and your cash reads Left over when you haven’t set a band for it; neither is checked. See Status words for the labels and the values each surface returns, and App prices for Waiting on a price and Not on price feed. A share exactly at the minimum or the maximum is in range. Allocait also gives each edge a tolerance of 0.01 of a percentage point: a share within 0.01 of an edge counts as in range, and a breach is reported only beyond that.

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An empty class

A class you hold nothing in is still checked. It sits at 0% of your portfolio, so a band with a minimum above 0 reads Below min until the class reaches its minimum. To let a class sit empty, set its minimum to 0.

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A portfolio worth zero or less

If the portfolio is worth zero or less, which shorts that move against you can cause, Allocait can’t compute any share. It checks nothing and lists no breach until the portfolio is worth more than zero. The API reports this as status: "unjudged".

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Partly priced classes

The app computes a status from the priced holdings in a class and shows how many it used. Agents’ checks need a price for every non-cash holding that doesn’t own its price, as an option with a mark does. See App prices.

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Next steps

• Status words maps each label to the value each surface returns.
• Targets covers the aim point inside a band.
• Size ranges covers the rule for one holding.
• Scenarios explains how rules are grouped and which set a portfolio is checked against.