Portfolio Rebalancing Calculator
Find the exact buys and sells to bring your stock, bond and cash holdings back to their target weights.
How it works
Total = Σ current values · Target value = total × target weight% · Trade = target value − current value (positive = buy, negative = sell)
Rebalancing sells what has grown past its target weight and buys what has lagged, restoring the risk profile you chose. Each asset’s target dollar value is simply the whole portfolio times its target percentage, and the trade needed is the gap between that and what you hold now. Done periodically, it enforces a disciplined buy-low, sell-high habit and keeps a portfolio from quietly drifting into more risk than intended.
Worked example
A $100,000 portfolio holding $68k stocks, $24k bonds and $8k cash against a 60/30/10 target needs $60k / $30k / $10k. So you sell $8,000 of stocks and buy $6,000 of bonds and $2,000 of cash to get back on target.
Frequently asked questions
How often should I rebalance?
Common approaches are calendar-based (once or twice a year) or threshold-based (whenever an asset drifts more than, say, 5 percentage points from target). More frequent rebalancing controls risk more tightly but can raise taxes and trading costs.
Should I rebalance by selling, or with new money?
Directing new contributions toward the underweight assets rebalances without selling, avoiding taxable gains in a taxable account. Selling to rebalance is simplest in tax-advantaged accounts where trades are not taxed.
Why do the target weights have to total 100%?
The three targets define how the whole portfolio is divided, so they must sum to 100%. If they do not, the target dollar values would not add up to your actual portfolio and the trades would be meaningless — the tool asks you to correct them.
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Educational estimate, not investment advice. Returns are hypothetical and not guaranteed.