How it works, explained properly

Applies to RangefinderInvest 0.49.3 · published 2026-08-30

Start here

• Getting started: install to first rebalance
• Guided setup: from empty to first rebalance
• Import a broker CSV

Methodology & concepts

• AI assistant access: what it shares, and what it can't do
• Arithmetic vs. compound returns
• Classic and Peer Screener scores
• Core cash vehicles
• Every projection number is in today's dollars
• Expense-ratio units: percent, not fraction
• Extending history: reference symbols and backfill
• Funds with no ticker symbol
• Health coverage before 65: the ACA model
• How a glide path changes your plan
• How a model backtest is computed
• How a withdrawal is funded
• How Roth conversions are modeled
• How Social Security is modeled
• How suggested trades are computed
• How T-bills and CDs are valued
• How taxable-account gains are taxed in the plan
• How the Historical replay samples the record
• How the HSA is modeled
• How the optimizer scores candidates
• How the value chart is built
• How to read the results
• Manual splits: repairing history the feed missed
• Model versions: an allocation with a history
• Parameter uncertainty: nobody knows the true return
• Performance uses adjusted closes
• Price sources: Yahoo, Tiingo, and rate limits
• Reading the backtest metrics
• Required minimum distributions
• Spending strategies (Guardrail, VPW, % of balance)
• Stress-testing a Social Security cut
• Target, reference, or neither
• The home-purchase what-if and its optimizer
• The model as a lens
• The spending guardrail
• The Stock Monitor
• The survivor scenario (widow's penalty)
• The three models: two Forward, one Historical
• The withdrawal-rate check, made horizon-aware
• Train vs. eval: the optimizer's honesty split
• Two earners, two timelines
• What the tax model covers and leaves out
• Which account pays: the draw order
• Why re-running gives the same answer
• Why your return here isn't your broker's number

App reference: page by page

• Assistant
• Guided setup: from empty to first rebalance
• The About page
• The Accounts page
• The Dashboard
• The Files page
• The Fixed Income page
• The Holdings page
• The Model Backtest page
• The Optimize page
• The Projection page
• The Rebalancing page
• The Screener
• The Settings page
• The Target Models page
• The Ticker Metadata page
• Using help
• Your Profile: the facts pages read

How-tos & troubleshooting

• Build a T-bill / CD ladder
• Downloads failing: rate limits
• How the app works
• Import a broker CSV
• Model a Roth conversion plan
• Set up a target model
• Stale prices: what the ⚠ means

Glossary

• CAGR (compound annual growth rate)
• Calmar ratio
• Core cash
• Data shape: transactions vs. statements
• Drift
• Expense ratio
• Fund
• Lens
• Live balances vs. assumptions
• Lots and cost basis
• Maximum drawdown
• Real vs. nominal dollars
• Sharpe ratio
• Slice
• Sortino ratio
• Spending vs. withdrawal
• Target model
• Time-weighted return (TWR)
• Ulcer Index
• Volatility

What's new

• 0.49: Planning for the people who are actually there
• 0.48: The numbers, checked against their sources
• 0.47: Every model at a glance, one model in full
• 0.46: Decisions first, details when you need them
• 0.45: The stocks you own, taken seriously
• 0.44: Backtests for your AI, and a second way in
• 0.43: Four AI sources, by name
• 0.42: An AI that can read your plan, and propose to it
• 0.41: Spending that follows the portfolio, priced honestly
• 0.40: Cash that counts, and crashes that stay put
• 0.39: Ways out, and a menu bar
• 0.38: Housing decisions, and a benefits cut you can test
• 0.37: The projection explains itself
• 0.36: A fresh install that can fetch prices
• 0.30: In-app help, everywhere
• 0.29: Published outlooks preset

RangefinderInvest is software, not an investment adviser: it does not provide investment, tax, or legal advice, and you place every trade yourself. Questions these pages don't answer go to [email protected].