The Members Toolkit is a special set of especially powerful charts reserved for the generous members who make Portfolio Charts possible. Beyond the time-saving visualizations, they also feature a few unique interface options called input keys. The Toolkit Keychain is a companion Google Sheet that helps you create and store these custom input keys.
Become a Member /// Get the Toolkit Keychain
Contents
What are Input Keys?
Input keys are special codes that store information and can be used to input outside data into the online Members Toolkit charts. Want to model your favorite mutual fund? Maybe mix momentum stocks and bitcoin into the online asset options? And then save the settings for future reference? Input keys can do all that and more.
There are two types of keys:
Asset Keys (AK)
Asset keys unlock up to three new custom asset options using source data you provide. You can then mix these custom assets into any portfolio you want using the standard Portfolio Charts interface.
Portfolio Keys (PK)
Portfolio keys are an easy way to save portfolio settings and bypass the need to enter the same asset allocation every time. They are a replacement for the old Bookmarks system, and can also include custom assets. Note that portfolio keys do not store your home country, so you can swap the country in the tools to see how portfolios performed under very different currencies and inflation.
How to Make Input Keys
Input keys are created using an external Google Sheet. Portfolio Charts provides the free template, and you make a personal copy that you fully control. The spreadsheet has a number of sections designed to make asset and portfolio building as simple as possible.
Sources
The source sheet helps you collect raw nominal total returns data for any asset source you like. It has built-in exchange rates to translate data from multiple currencies, so there’s no need to figure that out for yourself. In addition to entering annual returns percentages, you can also use index growth data (100, 110, 120, etc.) and it will handle the conversion for you.
TIP: See the green S1 boxes? That means all settings are entered properly. Make sure all of your sources, assets, and portfolios turn green so they show up on subsequent screens.
Assets
The assets sheet allows you to effortlessly create full asset histories from multiple sources. Pick up to 3 sources organized by priority, and the Keychain will fill in the full history with the provided data. You can also select a similar online Portfolio Charts asset to backfill any remaining gaps in the data, allowing you to do things like model the returns of your favorite stock ETF and backfill it with close-enough index numbers.
TIP: Use backfill data to extend your data series to take full advantage of the charts. If you don’t specify a backfill asset, the online charts will ignore years with data gaps.
Portfolios
The portfolios sheet helps you build and save full portfolio definitions. If you’re just using online Portfolio Charts data, you can skip the Sources and Assets sheets and simply save your portfolio ideas here. Once you build your own assets, you can mix them into the portfolios as well.
TIP: The asset allocation needs to total 100% for the portfolio to activate as an option.
Input Keys
Once you have built assets and portfolios, the input keys sheet lets you select one from a dropdown to generate an appropriate key. To use the key, copy the code, go to a Members Toolkit chart, double-click an Asset Key (AK) or Portfolio key (PK) field, and paste the code there. Viola! Your new asset or portfolio will be active.
TIP: If you see an error in a key field, it probably means you changed the name of a portfolio and need to reselect it in the dropdown. The same thing applies to other dropdowns, too.
Get the Toolkit Keychain
The Toolkit Keychain is completely free. It is browser-based, and the only technical requirement is a Gmail account. Simply visit the link below, log in with your Google account, save a copy, and Allow Access.
What Allow Access Does
The spreadsheet will not work until you click Allow Access to activate the sync feature. The sync pulls exchange rates and asset options from Portfolio Charts, so you will never need to worry about updating anything but your custom asset returns and portfolio settings. It does not allow access to any of your spreadsheet data the other direction.
Data Sources
The Toolkit Keychain helps you collect outside data and build portfolios using standard Portfolio Charts assets, but it does not contain source numbers. To help you in your search, Portfolio Charts maintains a list of reputable free data sources where you can find good data.
To get started, I highly recommend downloading the Simba Spreadsheet. It is a free collection of source data maintained by the Bogleheads community that you can directly copy and paste into the Toolkit Keychain.
Version History
The Toolkit Keychain spreadsheet is designed to be simple and flexible with minimum updates. Things like new exchange rate updates sync behind the scenes so you don’t have to lift a finger. If you find a bug, please don’t hesitate to let me know so that I can fix it for everyone. The version history is kept here so that you can check in to see if there’s a new release worth upgrading to.
- V1 — October 19, 2025 — Initial release
- V2 — October 21, 2025 — Fixed a bug related to custom assets stored in portfolio keys.
- V3 — October 23, 2025 — Fixed a bug in the error checking for source data.
- V4 — October 23, 2025 — Corrected an error in exchange rate calculations.