QuantAscent — Screen Guide

A detailed reference for every tab and dialog in the QuantAscent desktop app.

See also: Product Overview for a feature summary | Setup Guide for installation and IBKR configuration

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Navigation

The sidebar on the left lists all 12 tabs. Click any tab name to switch views. At the bottom of the sidebar, a connection indicator shows whether QuantAscent can reach IB Gateway — green means connected, gray means disconnected. You can also open the Portfolio Manager dialog from the sidebar to switch between portfolios.

Most screens auto-refresh when underlying data changes (for example, after the scheduler runs a portfolio sync). You do not need to manually reload.

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1. Dashboard

The Dashboard is your portfolio's home screen — a single-page summary of where your money stands and how it's performing.

Layout

• Summary metrics row across the top
• Risk metrics table below the summary
• Monthly returns heatmap showing the last five years
• Portfolio performance chart with benchmark overlay
• Recent performance table covering the last 30 trading days

Summary Metrics

A horizontal row of key figures, each color-coded green (positive) or red (negative):

Metric	What It Shows
NAV	Current portfolio net asset value
Peak NAV	Highest NAV ever recorded
Daily P&L	Dollar change today
Daily Return	Percentage change today
30D Return	Rolling 30-day return
YTD Return	Year-to-date return
Realized YTD	Total realized gains/losses this year
Current Drawdown	How far below the peak you are right now

If margin trading is enabled, two additional metrics appear: Leverage Ratio and Margin Interest YTD.

Returns Card

A dedicated returns card displays both return methodologies side by side:

Period	TWR	MWR
MTD	✓	✓
QTD	✓	✓
YTD	✓	✓
1Y	✓	✓
3Y Ann.	✓	✓
5Y Ann.	✓	✓
10Y Ann.	✓	✓

• TWR (Time-Weighted Return) — measures portfolio performance independent of cash flows. Useful for evaluating your strategy's skill.
• MWR (Money-Weighted Return / IRR) — measures your actual investor return, accounting for the timing and size of deposits and withdrawals. Useful for understanding what you personally earned.

If you haven't made any deposits or withdrawals, TWR and MWR will be identical. The more your cash flows affect timing, the more they'll diverge.

Risk Metrics

A two-row table comparing Lifetime and YTD risk statistics:

Volatility, Sharpe, Sortino, Calmar, Max Drawdown, Beta, Alpha, Correlation, Win Rate, Best Day, Worst Day

Hover over any column header for a tooltip explaining how the metric is calculated.

Monthly Returns Heatmap

A color-coded grid covering the last five years. Each cell shows one month's return — green for gains, red for losses, with intensity reflecting magnitude. Check the vs SPY toggle to switch the heatmap from absolute returns to relative performance against the S&P 500.

Portfolio Performance Chart

An interactive line chart showing your portfolio's cumulative return alongside benchmark indices (SPY, QQQ, DIA). All lines are normalized to a common starting point so you can compare percentage gains directly.

Controls: - Range selector — 7D, 30D, 90D, 6M, YTD, 1Y, 3Y, 5Y, or Lifetime - Legend — click any series name to show/hide it - Hover — move your cursor over the chart to see exact values at any date

Recent Performance Table

The last 30 trading days in tabular form. Columns include daily, 7-day, 30-day, 90-day, and YTD returns (both dollar and percentage), plus peak NAV, drawdown, realized gains broken out by short-term and long-term, and commissions. All values are color-coded.

Tips

• The Dashboard needs at least one day of portfolio data to display anything. Data is synced automatically on startup.
• The "vs SPY" toggle on the heatmap is useful for distinguishing skill from market conditions — a green month during a red market is more meaningful than a green month when everything is up.

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2. Account

The Account tab tracks the money flowing into and out of your portfolio — deposits, withdrawals, and how your investment gains compare to what you've contributed.

Layout

• Summary cards — four key figures
• Account balance chart — portfolio value over time with cash flow markers
• Transaction history table — every deposit and withdrawal
• Reports section — generate and manage portfolio reports

Summary Cards

Four large-format cards across the top:

Card	Description	Color
Total Deposited	Sum of all deposits	Green
Total Withdrawn	Sum of all withdrawals	Red
Net Contributions	Deposits minus withdrawals	Neutral
Investment Gain	Current value minus net contributions	Green/Red

Account Balance Chart

A line chart of your portfolio value over time. Deposits appear as green upward triangles and withdrawals as red downward triangles, each with a dotted vertical line marking the date. Hover over any marker to see the transaction amount and your account balance at that point.

Range selector: 30D, 90D, 6M, 1Y, or Lifetime.

Transaction History

A scrollable table listing every deposit and withdrawal with date, type (color-coded), amount, and running account balance. Sortable by any column.

Reports

Generate portfolio reports from a dropdown of seven types:

Report Type	What It Covers
Quarterly Portfolio	Performance summary for the quarter
Annual Portfolio	Full-year review with benchmarks
Reconciliation	Position and trade cross-validation against IBKR
Audit	Detailed audit trail of all operations
Wash Sale Schedule	Wash sale adjustments for tax purposes
Realized Gains Schedule	Short-term and long-term realized gains
Tax Reconciliation	Tax-ready summary for your CPA

Click Generate to create a report (runs in the background). The five most recent reports appear in a quick-access table below. Click View All to open the full report archive, where you can open or delete any saved report.

Tips

• The Investment Gain card is the clearest measure of whether your strategies are making money — it strips out the effect of deposits and withdrawals.
• Reports are saved as files in your data directory and persist between sessions.

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3. Holdings

The Holdings tab shows every open position in your portfolio with real-time data from Interactive Brokers, and lets you place orders directly.

Layout

• Holdings summary card — aggregate position metrics
• Holdings table — all open positions with detailed columns
• Lot details — expandable rows showing individual cost lots

Holdings Summary

A summary card at the top showing:

Metric	Description
Total Positions	Number of open positions
Total Cost Basis	What you paid for everything
Current Value	What it's all worth now
Gain/Loss	Dollar difference (color-coded)
Return %	Percentage gain or loss (color-coded)

Holdings Table

The main table lists every position with columns including:

• Symbol and Name
• Quantity — shares held
• Avg Cost — average cost basis per share
• Current Price — live from IBKR
• Current Value — quantity times current price
• Gain/Loss — unrealized dollar P&L (green/red)
• Return % — unrealized percentage return (green/red)
• Strategy — which strategy owns this position
• Buy Date — when the position was opened

Click any column header to sort. Double-click a row to expand it and see individual lot details — each purchase lot with its own date, quantity, cost, and gain/loss.

Order Placement

Select a holding and use the order panel to place trades directly through IB Gateway:

• Buy or Sell toggle
• Quantity input
• Strategy assignment — tag the trade to a specific strategy
• Orders execute through your connected IBKR account

Tips

• The strategy column tells you which strategy is responsible for each position. If you place manual trades, they show up as unassigned until you tag them.
• Positions update automatically after trades execute — no manual refresh needed.

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4. Strategy Performance

This tab tracks how each of your strategies is performing independently, so you can see which ones are earning their allocation.

Layout

• Controls bar — date range, toggles, and filters
• Cumulative return chart — multi-strategy overlay with benchmarks
• Performance summary table — returns across multiple time windows
• Risk metrics table — per-strategy risk statistics

Controls

A single horizontal bar with:

• Window selector — 7D, 30D, 90D, 6M, YTD, 1Y, 3Y, 5Y, or Lifetime
• All / None buttons — quickly show or hide all strategy lines
• Weighted checkbox — toggle between allocation-weighted returns and raw strategy performance
• Custom date range — enable a custom start/end date with calendar pickers
• Chart Defaults — open a dialog to configure persistent default settings (see below)

Cumulative Return Chart

An interactive line chart where each strategy gets its own colored line. Benchmark indices (SPY, QQQ, DIA, IWM) appear as dashed lines for comparison. All series are normalized to a common starting point.

When Weighted mode is on, strategy returns are scaled by their allocation percentage, and the chart title updates to reflect this. The legend shows each strategy's allocation weight.

Click any series name in the legend to show or hide it. Hover for exact values at any date.

Performance Summary Table

A table showing returns for each strategy and benchmark across standard time windows:

1D, 30D, 90D, 6M, YTD, 1Y, 3Y, 5Y, and Lifetime — all color-coded green or red. Columns are automatically hidden if your data doesn't span that period yet.

Risk Metrics Table

Per-strategy risk statistics calculated over the selected date range:

Volatility, Sharpe, Sortino, Calmar, Max Drawdown, Beta, Alpha, Correlation (to SPY), Win Rate, Best Day, Worst Day

Chart Defaults Dialog

Click Chart Defaults to configure persistent preferences for this chart:

• Default time window — choose which range the chart opens to (7D, 30D, 90D, 6M, YTD, 1Y, 3Y, 5Y, or Lifetime)
• Series visibility — check or uncheck individual strategies and benchmarks to control which lines are shown by default when the chart loads

These settings are saved per portfolio and persist between sessions. Use the Select All / Deselect All buttons to quickly configure each group.

Tips

• Compare the Weighted view against the raw view to see how allocation sizing affects your results. A strategy with great raw returns but a tiny allocation may not be moving the needle.
• Use the custom date range to isolate specific market periods (e.g., a downturn) and see how each strategy held up.

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5. Strategy Manager

The Strategy Manager is the central hub for configuring what your portfolio actually does — which strategies are active, how much capital each gets, and how often they rebalance.

Layout

• Allocation bar — visual breakdown of capital across strategies
• Strategy cards — one card per strategy with controls and status

Allocation Bar

A horizontal stacked bar at the top showing how your NAV is divided among active strategies. Each segment is colored by strategy type — blue for Equity Scoring, purple for Fixed Allocation, and gray for Discretionary. The bar updates live as you change allocations. If margin is enabled and you exceed your leverage cap, the bar turns red as a warning.

Strategy Cards

Each strategy gets its own card showing:

• Strategy name and type badge (Equity Scoring, Fixed Allocation, or Discretionary)
• Active toggle — switch a strategy on or off without deleting it
• Allocation percentage — how much of your portfolio this strategy manages
• Rebalance schedule — daily, weekly (with day), monthly, quarterly, or intraday
• View / Edit / Delete buttons

Creating a New Strategy

Click New Strategy to choose a type:

• Equity Scoring — define criteria that score stocks and automatically select a portfolio
• Fixed Allocation — set target weights for specific tickers and rebalance to maintain them

A third type — Discretionary — is created automatically and cannot be deleted. It tracks trades made directly in your brokerage account outside of QuantAscent (so they don't show up as "Unknown"). Its allocation percentage updates automatically based on your actual holdings.

Editing an Equity Scoring Strategy

The editor lets you configure:

• Strategy name
• Scoring method (threshold-based or percentile-based)
• Criterion cards — each one defines a metric, operator, threshold, and point value
• Weights per criterion
• Rebalance frequency and schedule
• Filters (sector, market cap, etc.)

Editing a Fixed Allocation Strategy

The editor shows:

• Strategy name
• A holdings table with ticker, target weight, and current weight columns
• Add/remove holdings
• Rebalance frequency

Manual Rebalance

Each strategy card includes a Rebalance button for triggering a manual rebalance:

1. Click Rebalance on any strategy card
2. A preview dialog shows the proposed trades — exit sells, trim sells, and buys — with estimated quantities, prices, and values
3. Review the summary (total sells, total buys, net) and click Execute Rebalance to proceed, or Cancel to abort
4. Execution runs in the background; Holdings and Trade Log refresh automatically when complete

You need IB Gateway running for live rebalances. Prices shown in the preview are estimates. The order mode used during execution depends on your setting in Settings > Global Settings > Order Mode:

• Limit — places limit orders at the mid-price, adjusting if not filled within the timeout
• Market — places market orders for immediate execution
• Limit then Market — tries limit orders first, then falls back to market if unfilled

Tips

• Deactivating a strategy (rather than deleting it) preserves the configuration so you can re-enable it later.
• The allocation bar is the fastest way to check whether your strategies are using the amount of capital you intend.

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6. Strategy Builder

The Strategy Builder is where you design, test, and refine investment strategies. Build a scoring model from scratch, backtest it against real history, and iterate until you're confident.

Layout

• Strategy type selector — choose what kind of strategy to build
• Strategy selector bar — load, save, duplicate, rename, or delete strategies
• Editor panel — configure the strategy's rules and parameters
• Results panel — backtest chart and performance statistics
• Backtest history — archive of previous backtest runs

Strategy Type Selector

A dropdown offering four modes:

Type	Description
Built-in Library	Browse the 39 pre-built sector and index strategies
Fixed Allocation	Set target weights for specific tickers
Multi-Factor: Threshold	Score stocks with binary pass/fail criteria
Multi-Factor: Percentile	Score stocks with continuous percentile rankings

A description below the dropdown updates to explain the selected type.

Strategy Selector Bar

Buttons across the top for managing strategy files:

• New — start a blank strategy
• Save / Save As — persist your work
• Rename / Duplicate / Delete — manage existing strategies
• Wizard — a step-by-step guided flow for building a strategy from scratch
• A status indicator shows whether you have unsaved changes

Editor Panel (Threshold & Percentile Modes)

The left side of the screen where you define your strategy's rules:

Criterion cards — each card represents one scoring rule: - Metric — choose from 120+ financial metrics (grouped by category) - Operator and threshold — e.g., "FCF Yield > 3%" - Point value or weight — how much this criterion contributes to the overall score

Filters — narrow the stock universe before scoring: - Sector, industry, market cap range - Hard metric filters (e.g., exclude stocks with negative earnings)

Portfolio parameters: - Minimum and maximum number of stocks to hold - Tiebreaker metric for equal scores - Rebalance window (how often to re-evaluate)

Metric insight panel — when you select a metric in a criterion card, a side panel shows that metric's IC (predictive power) and a quintile performance preview, so you can gauge whether the metric is worth including before running a full backtest.

Editor Panel (Fixed Allocation Mode)

A simpler table-based editor: - Add tickers and assign target percentage weights - Weights must sum to 100% (or less, with the remainder in cash)

Backtest Results

After clicking Run Backtest, the right side displays:

• Growth chart — your strategy's cumulative return vs. the S&P 500 benchmark over the test period
• Performance metrics table — 16 statistics including CAGR, Sharpe, Sortino, Calmar, Max Drawdown, Alpha, Beta, Win Rate, Profit Factor, and more
• Holdings snapshot — the stocks your strategy would currently hold

Backtest History

A table at the bottom archives every backtest you've run. Columns include date, strategy name, type, number of signals, trades, return, and max drawdown. Double-click any row to reload those results. You can also delete old runs to keep things tidy.

Tips

• Use the Wizard if you're building your first strategy — it walks you through each decision step by step.
• The metric insight panel saves time: if a metric's IC is near zero, it's probably not worth adding as a criterion.
• Every backtest is automatically saved, so experiment freely. You can always go back and compare previous runs.
• Start with the Built-in Library to see how pre-built strategies are structured, then duplicate one and customize it.

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7. Backtesting

The Backtesting tab lets you simulate how a strategy would have performed over historical data. Run full backtests, analyze results with detailed charts and metrics, and compare strategies side by side.

Layout

• Launcher panel (top, collapsible) — configure and run new backtests
• Results sidebar (left) — scrollable list of saved backtest results with key metrics
• Detail panel (right) — charts, metrics, and analysis tabs for the selected backtest

Launcher Panel

Configure a backtest run with these controls:

Parameter	Description	Default
Strategy	Searchable dropdown of all user and built-in strategies	—
Start / End	Date range for the simulation	10 years ago – today
Rebalance	Days between portfolio re-evaluations (1–365)	30 (equity) / 60 (ETF)
Lookback	Quarters of historical data used for scoring (1–40)	20 (5 years)
Capital	Starting portfolio value	$10,000
RFR	Risk-free rate for Sharpe/Sortino calculations	0.045 (4.5%)
Commission	Cost per trade	$1.00
Slippage	Execution impact as percentage	0.10%

Click Run Backtest to start. A progress bar and live log show period-by-period progress with an ETA. Click Cancel to abort a running backtest.

Results Sidebar

Each saved backtest appears as a card showing the strategy name and four metric pills: CAGR, Alpha (α), Sharpe (SR), and Volatility (σ). Use the sort dropdown (Name, CAGR, Alpha, Sharpe) and filter pills (All, Built-in, Mine) to find results quickly.

• Adopt (+) — on built-in strategy results, copies the strategy to your custom strategies so you can edit and customize it
• Compare — select 2–5 backtests to overlay on charts and view metrics side by side
• Delete — remove selected backtest results

Charts & Metrics

Equity curve (top) — cumulative return of the strategy vs. SPY benchmark. A timeframe selector (30D, 90D, 6M, 1Y, 3Y, 5Y, 10Y, All) re-slices the view. Click legend entries to toggle lines.

Metrics grid — 24 statistics organized in six sections:

Section	Metrics
Returns	CAGR, SPY CAGR, Total Return, SPY Total Return
Risk-Adjusted	Sharpe, Sortino, Calmar, Profit Factor
Risk & Volatility	Max Drawdown, Ann. Volatility, Alpha, Beta
Period Performance	Win Rate, Best Period, Worst Period, Avg Stocks/Period
Universe & Capacity	Avg Mkt Cap, Min Mkt Cap, Est. Capacity, Capacity Used
Trading Costs	Total Commissions, Total Slippage, Friction Drag, Avg Turnover

Values are color-coded green (good) or red (bad) where applicable.

Detail tabs below the metrics grid:

Tab	What it shows
Drawdown	"Underwater" chart of peak-to-trough losses over time, with the max drawdown labeled
Monthly Returns	Heatmap grid (months × years) color-coded from red (losses) to green (gains)
Rolling Metrics	1-year rolling Sharpe, Beta, and Alpha overlaid on one chart
Holdings Analysis	Horizontal bar chart of the top 15 most frequently selected stocks

Compare Mode

Click Compare, then check 2–5 backtest cards. The equity chart overlays all selected strategies with SPY, and the metrics grid switches to a side-by-side comparison table. Click Compare again to exit.

Tips

• Every backtest is saved automatically — experiment freely and compare runs later.
• Use the timeframe selector on the equity chart to zoom into specific market periods (e.g., COVID drawdown, 2022 rate hikes).
• The Capacity metrics help you judge whether a strategy is realistic at your portfolio size — high capacity usage means the strategy may not scale.
• Start with a built-in strategy backtest to see how results look, then adopt it and tweak parameters in the Strategy Builder.

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8. Research

The Research tab is QuantAscent's quantitative laboratory. It provides tools for evaluating which financial metrics actually predict stock returns — the foundation for building evidence-based strategies.

For a deep dive into the methodology behind these tools, see the Research Analysis document.

Layout

The Research tab is organized into two main sections, each with multiple analysis tools:

• Metric Analysis — evaluate individual metrics
• Strategy Analysis — test filters and composite scores

Metric Analysis

IC Rankings

Computes the Information Coefficient (a measure of predictive power) for every metric in the database, then ranks them by strength. This is the starting point for discovering which metrics are worth building strategies around.

• Results table showing metric name, IC value, absolute IC, p-value, sample size, and direction ("higher is better" or "lower is better")
• Sortable by any column
• Optional filters: restrict to a specific sector, market cap range, or exclude dollar-denominated metrics

Quintile Analysis

Select any metric and split the stock universe into five equal groups (quintiles) from lowest to highest. Compare the average return of each group to see whether the metric has a monotonic relationship with future performance.

• Bar chart showing mean return per quintile
• Quality statistics: monotonicity score and Q5-Q1 spread
• Helps you see the shape of a metric's predictive power (linear, U-shaped, tail-driven, etc.)

Threshold Scan

Sweep a range of cutoff values for any metric and see how the selected group performs at each threshold. This directly answers questions like "What P/E ratio below which stocks tend to outperform?"

• Table showing threshold value, mean return, lift over universe, and statistical significance
• Identifies the optimal threshold region where predictive power is strongest

Conditional IC

Measure how a metric's predictive power changes when you condition on a second variable. For example: "Is FCF Yield more predictive for large-cap stocks or small-cap stocks?"

• Split types: median split, quintile split, or categorical (by sector)
• Results show IC in each subgroup and the difference between groups
• Highlights metrics with regime-dependent behavior

Strategy Analysis

Filter Tester

Define an arbitrary boolean filter (e.g., "ROIC > 5% AND FCF Yield > 3%") and see comprehensive statistics comparing the filtered stocks against the full universe: mean return, statistical significance (t-test and Mann-Whitney), effect size (Cohen's d), and distribution comparisons.

Score Analysis

Test a complete composite scoring system — the same one you'd build in the Strategy Builder. See how the composite score's IC varies across sectors, market cap bands, and time periods.

Score Breakdown

Analyze how individual criteria contribute to the overall composite score. Identify which criteria are pulling their weight and which are adding noise.

Build Matrix

Before using any Research tools, you need a built metrics matrix. A Build Matrix button at the top triggers the computation (runs in the background with a progress bar). The matrix is saved locally and only needs to be rebuilt when you want to incorporate newer data.

Tips

• Start with IC Rankings to get a broad view of what's predictive, then drill into promising metrics with Quintile Analysis and Threshold Scan.
• A metric with a high IC but poor monotonicity in the quintile chart may only work in the tails — consider using it as a threshold filter rather than a ranking factor.
• The Conditional IC tool is powerful for discovering that a metric works in one sector but not another — information you can use to add sector filters in the Strategy Builder.

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9. Company Analysis

Company Analysis gives you a deep fundamental profile of any individual stock — key metrics at a glance, interactive trend charts, earnings data, and recent news.

Layout

• Search bar — enter any ticker
• Company header — name, sector, industry, market cap
• Key metrics cards — 16+ financial statistics
• Earnings card — recent and upcoming earnings
• News card — latest headlines
• Trend charts — 8 default charts plus custom chart builder

Search Bar

Type a ticker into the search field and click Analyze, or pick a ticker from a strategy's holdings using the dropdown selectors. The entire page updates to show that company's data.

Company Header

Displays the company name in large text with metadata below: ticker, sector, industry, country, and market cap. A brief company description is shown with a "More..." toggle to expand the full text.

Key Metrics Cards

A grid of 16+ financial statistics covering:

• Valuation — P/E, P/B, P/S, EV/EBITDA, FCF Yield, Earnings Yield
• Profitability — ROE, ROIC, gross margin, operating margin, net margin
• Financial health — Altman Z-Score, debt-to-equity, interest coverage, current ratio

Each metric is formatted appropriately (percentages, ratios, dollar values) with the most recent values highlighted.

Earnings Card

Shows recent earnings results (EPS, revenue, beat/miss status) and the next upcoming earnings date. Expand for a historical earnings table.

News Card

Latest news headlines for the company with dates and clickable links to the source articles.

Trend Charts

Eight default interactive charts are displayed:

1. Price history with 50-day and 10-day moving averages
2. Revenue & earnings over time
3. Profit margins (gross, operating, net)
4. Cash flow (operating, free, capex)
5. Profitability (ROE, ROIC)
6. Balance sheet health (debt ratios, Z-Score)
7. Valuation multiples (P/E, P/B, EV/EBITDA)
8. Per-share metrics (EPS, book value, revenue per share)

Custom Chart Editor

Want to see a metric combination that isn't in the defaults? Click Add Chart to create a custom chart:

• Left Y-axis metric — pick from the full metric catalogue
• Right Y-axis metric — overlay a second series on a separate axis
• Time range — select the history window

Custom charts can be reordered (move up/down), edited, or deleted. A Reset Layout button restores the eight defaults.

Tips

• You can jump to Company Analysis directly from the Company Screener or Holdings tab by clicking on a ticker.
• The custom chart editor with dual Y-axes is useful for spotting relationships — for example, overlay FCF Yield against price to see if the stock gets cheaper when cash flow improves.

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10. Company Screener

The Screener lets you filter the entire universe of ~5,000 US stocks in real time. Define conditions, see which companies pass, and click through to Company Analysis for a deeper look.

Layout

• Filter panel (collapsible) — categorical and metric-based filters
• Results table — companies that pass all filters

Filter Panel

The panel has two types of filters:

Categorical filters — dropdown selectors with checkboxes for: - Sector (e.g., Technology, Healthcare, Energy) - Industry - Country - Exchange

Metric filters — add cards that define numeric conditions: - Choose a metric from the full catalogue (120+ options) - Set an operator (>, <, >=, <=, ==, !=) and a value - Example: "P/E Ratio < 20" or "ROE > 15%"

Click + Add Filter to add more metric conditions. Use Apply Filters to update results. Reset All clears everything and shows the full universe.

A count label at the top ("X of Y companies") updates as you filter.

Results Table

Companies passing all filters appear in a sortable table. Fixed columns include:

• Ticker, Name, Sector, Industry

Additional metric columns are configurable — click Configure Columns to open a dialog where you can pick which metrics appear, grouped by category (Valuation, Growth, Profitability, etc.) with select-all/deselect-all per group.

Double-click any row to navigate directly to Company Analysis for that ticker.

Tips

• The Screener uses the same metrics matrix as the Research tab. If you see "No metrics matrix loaded," go to the Research tab and build or load one first.
• Use the column configurator to add the metrics you care about — the default view only shows a few, but you can display any of the 120+ metrics as columns.
• Combine categorical and metric filters to narrow quickly. For example: Technology sector + ROE > 15% + Debt-to-Equity < 1.0 gives you financially strong tech companies.

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11. Trade Log

The Trade Log is a complete record of every trade your portfolio has executed, organized for both performance review and tax reporting.

Layout

• Realized stats panel — today's and year-to-date realized gains
• Closed trades tree — expandable view of all completed trades
• Open positions table — unfilled lots still held

Realized Stats Panel

A highlighted card at the top showing:

• Realized Today — today's realized P&L, broken out by short-term (ST) and long-term (LT), color-coded green or red
• YTD Realized — year-to-date totals with the same ST/LT breakdown
• Cost Basis — total cost basis of current holdings

Closed Trades Tree

The main view is an expandable tree. Each parent row represents a sale and shows:

Sale Date, Buy Date, Symbol, Quantity, Sell Price, Type (short-term or long-term), Strategy, Profit, ST Gain, LT Gain, Return %

Profit values are color-coded green for gains, red for losses. Expand any sale to see the individual lot matches — which specific purchase lots were matched against the sale using FIFO (first-in, first-out) order:

• Lot purchase date
• Lot reference number
• Matched quantity
• Cost per share
• Long-term or short-term classification

Open Positions Table

A read-only table showing positions that haven't been closed yet, with columns: Buy Date, Symbol, Contract ID, Type, Strategy, Quantity, and Average Price.

Tips

• The ST/LT classification matters for taxes — long-term gains (held over one year) are taxed at a lower rate. The Trade Log tracks this automatically.
• Use the Account tab's report generator to export a Realized Gains Schedule or Wash Sale Schedule based on this data.

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12. Settings

Settings is where you configure QuantAscent's connection to IBKR, manage backups, and tune global preferences.

Layout

A scrollable form organized into multiple sections.

IBKR Connection

Setting	Description
Account Mode	Toggle between Live Trading (port 7496) and Paper Trading (port 7497)
IBKR Host	IP address of the machine running IB Gateway (default: 127.0.0.1)
Client ID	API client ID for the IBKR connection (default: 1)

Trade Execution

Setting	Description
Auto-Trade	Allow the scheduler to automatically rebalance strategies via IBKR. When off, no automated trades are placed.
Order Mode	How orders execute: Limit (mid-price), Market (immediate), or Limit then Market (try limit first, fall back to market)
Order Timeout	How long to wait for order fills before adjusting
Min Trade $	Minimum dollar value for a rebalance trade. Trades below this threshold are skipped to avoid commission drag on tiny orders (default: $50)
Margin Mode	Turn margin trading on or off
Max Leverage	Maximum leverage ratio (up to 4x)
Extended Hours	Allow orders to fill during pre-market (4:00 AM–9:30 AM ET) and after-hours (4:00–8:00 PM ET) sessions. Only limit orders can fill outside regular hours. Defaults to off.

Portfolio

Setting	Description
Portfolio Start Date	The inception date of your portfolio, used as the default start for full data rebuilds

Appearance

Setting	Description
Privacy Mode	Mask every dollar value in the UI with $•••• (account balances, deposits, P&L $, cost basis, market values, chart axes, etc.). Percentages, share counts, and tickers stay visible. Useful for screen recording or sharing tutorials without revealing account size. Takes effect immediately on Save \u2014 no restart needed. Default: off.

Strategy Library

Select which metrics matrix version to use for the built-in strategy library. Useful if you've built multiple matrix versions with different date ranges or parameters.

Backup Settings

Setting	Description
Backup Folder	Choose where backup files are stored (folder picker)
Backup Frequency	How often automatic backups run

IBKR Flex Credentials

Setting	Description
Flex Token	Your IBKR Flex Web Service token (see Setup Guide for how to get one)
Query ID	The numeric ID of your Flex Activity Query
Save Credentials	Stores these locally — never sent anywhere except to IBKR

Database Settings

Setting	Description
API Key	Your QuantAscent data API key
Check for Updates	Manually check whether a newer database version is available
Sync Now	Download and install the latest database

Tips

• Paper Trading mode (port 7497) is the safest way to test strategies with real market data but fake money. Switch to it here before experimenting with live execution.
• If you run multiple API clients connecting to the same IB Gateway, give each a unique Client ID to avoid conflicts.
• Backup settings are worth configuring early — your portfolio log and trade database are valuable and not stored anywhere else.

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Portfolio Manager (Dialog)

The Portfolio Manager is a dialog window accessed from the sidebar. It lets you manage multiple portfolios — each with its own positions, trade history, strategies, and performance data.

Layout

• Portfolios table — list of all portfolios
• Action buttons — create, rename, delete

Portfolios Table

Column	Description
Name	Portfolio display name
Type	Live (green) or Paper (yellow) — determines which IBKR port is used
Created	Date the portfolio was created
ID	Internal identifier

Actions

• Create Portfolio — opens a dialog to set a name, type (Live Trading or Paper Trading), and optional description. Each new portfolio gets its own isolated data directory.
• Rename — change a portfolio's display name
• Delete — remove a portfolio and its data (the default portfolio cannot be deleted)

Switch between portfolios by selecting one and closing the dialog. The entire application reloads to show the selected portfolio's data.

Tips

• Use a Paper portfolio for testing new strategies before deploying them in your Live portfolio.
• Each portfolio is completely isolated — strategies, trades, and performance data are separate. This means you can run different strategy sets in different portfolios without interference.

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Help & About (Dialog)

Access the Help & About dialog from the sidebar. It provides quick reference information and diagnostic tools.

Contents

• Version — the current QuantAscent version number
• Log Files — a button to open the log folder containing app.log and crash reports. Useful for troubleshooting.
• System Info — Python version, PySide6 version, and platform details
• Report a Bug — describe the issue and click Submit Bug Report. Your system info and log file are included automatically and the developer is notified by email.
• Licenses — open-source license notices