Published: August 20, 2025

Last Updated: May 21, 2026

Throughout this article, you will find links to other Education Center articles to give you more information. These links will open in a new tab, so you can return to this article after reviewing the information.

Step 1: Import your portfolios

There are three ways to create a portfolio within your TradeSmith Finance platform: Link to Brokerage, Add Manually, and Upload CSV File.

• Link to Brokerage: import your online brokerage account(s).

• Add Manually: create a manual investment portfolio or watchlist to track new potential trades.

• Upload CSV File: upload a spreadsheet of securities as a portfolio.

Step 2: Plan Your Exit Strategy

TradeSmith helps you stay disciplined in your trade planning. Emotional investing — driven by fear or greed — often leads to missed opportunities or unnecessary losses. Our system is designed to help you avoid those pitfalls. 

TradeSmith’s proprietary indicators:

TradeSmith uses the Health Indicator to help you quickly understand how your positions are performing.

When a security is in the Green Zone, it means it’s healthy and moving normally, given the expected level of risk. That expected risk is measured by the Volatility Quotient (VQ). 

Think of the VQ as a guide that tells us how much a security typically moves up or down. Using historical price data, we calculate the normal movement for an index, mutual fund, ETF, stock, or even a cryptocurrency. 

If you’re using the Health Indicator as a simple exit strategy, here’s an easy way to remember it: 

• Green means buy 
• Yellow means hold 
• Red means sell 

To learn more about your TradeStops exit strategies, click here.

Step 3: Optimize & Manage Portfolio Risk

How much are you willing to risk in this trade? 

Your capital is limited – maximize efficiency with risk-based portfolio management. The following tools help you position size based on the asset’s VQ or risk profile. 

• The Risk Rebalancer Tool: optimizes the entire portfolio(s) based on equal risk position sizing, preventing overexposure to volatile stocks.

• The Position Size Tool: helps you determine how many shares to buy of a security.

• The Pure Quant Tool: helps you build a fully optimized and risk-balanced portfolio or re-optimize your portfolio and add new positions.

Step 4: Research & Stock Analysis

Use the Search for Ticker field in the upper-right corner of your site to quickly find any stock. Once selected, you’ll be taken to the Asset Details page. You can also access this page by clicking on any ticker while viewing your positions.

The Asset Details page gives you a complete snapshot of each security — including TradeSmith indicators, statistics, financials, and chart data to help you make smart, confident decisions. 

To learn more about how to search for a ticker, click here.

Step 5: Continued Education

Continuous Education & Support

Discover tutorials, webinars, and more — all designed to help you make the most of your TradeSmith experience. Please check out your Support menu at the top right of your program site.

• Concierge Appointment: Set up a one-on-one phone appointment with a knowledgeable agent who can walk you through the program or answer your questions. 
• Education Center: Review our library of educational content (the Getting Started series, articles and guides, the glossary, and the Inside TradeSmith and TradeSmith Walkthrough webinars). 

TradeStops makes the research, planning, and position sizing steps much easier, so you can have the confidence of an investment pro. 

Need Help? 

Our Customer Success team is ready to assist: 

• Phone: 1-866-385-2076 (toll-free) 
• Email: [email protected] 

*Note—The tabs and features you see on your TradeSmith Finance site will vary based on your subscription(s) and subscription level(s).