Reading account value, cash, and holdings together
Account value tells one story, cash tells another, and holdings explain what is already inside the account.
Account value is the total. Cash tells you what is available. Holdings tell you what is already at work.
Account value: the headline number
Account value is the sum of all positions plus cash inside a brokerage account at the last sync. It is the number your brokerage shows on the account summary page. In WealthPie, this value is pulled from the connected brokerage and used as the denominator for all current allocation percentages. A position that is 30% of your account value means it represents 30% of that total — not 30% of your target.
Cash: the uninvested layer
Cash in a brokerage account is a real position, not a zero. If your account holds $2,000 in cash and $8,000 in ETFs, cash represents 20% of the account value. Whether that 20% is intentional (a planned cash reserve) or accidental (money waiting to be deployed) changes how you should read it. WealthPie shows cash as a separate line in the account summary so you can decide whether to include it in your pie as a deliberate slice or leave it unassigned.
Holdings: what the numbers are actually made of
Holdings break the account value down into individual positions — the specific stocks, ETFs, or funds that make up the invested portion. Reviewing holdings helps you understand how the account value is distributed across asset classes, sectors, and geographies before you look at any allocation chart. In WealthPie, holdings pulled from the brokerage show the current market value alongside shares held and average purchase price.
Reading all three together
The clearest portfolio review reads account value, cash, and holdings as a set. Start with the total. Then ask how much is cash versus invested. Then break the invested portion down into individual positions and map them against your target pie. This sequence prevents the common mistake of seeing a high account value and assuming the allocation is healthy — a large cash balance or a single oversized position can hide structural drift.