How much of each fund do I buy or sell to get back to my target mix?
Enter what you hold and the mix you want, with or without new money, and see the trades that bring you back, and how far off you are today.
How to rebalance
Nothing is sold: new money goes to what is furthest below target. Useful in a taxable account.
THE TRADES THAT REBALANCE YOUOFF TARGET
$10,000to buy
Buy $10,000 of bonds. That moves your largest gap from target from 5.7 to 3.7 points, inside your 5-point band. With no selling, it would take $30,000 of new money to bring every holding to target; buying and selling gets there now.
To sell
$0
New money
$10,000
Largest gap now
5.7 points
Largest gap after
3.7 points
UNDERSTAND YOUR RESULT
Your mix now, after the trades, and the target
NowAfter the trades
US stocks (target 60%)
64%
63%
International stocks (target 20%)
21%
21%
Bonds (target 20%)
14%
16%
Today the largest gap from target is 5.7 points; after the trades it is 3.7 points.
The trades
| Holding | Now | Share now | Target | Trade | After | Share after |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US stocks | $270,000 | 64.3% | 60.0% | — | $270,000 | 62.8% |
| International stocks | $90,000 | 21.4% | 20.0% | — | $90,000 | 20.9% |
| Bonds | $60,000 | 14.3% | 20.0% | Buy $10,000 | $70,000 | 16.3% |
The portfolio is $420,000 today and $430,000 with $10,000 of new money. Each target share is applied to $430,000, but nothing is sold, so a holding that is over target stays over until the others catch up.
What moves the needle
Each row re-runs the calculation with one change. Click to apply.How it's computed
FORMULA
Target shares are scaled to add to 100%
Buy and sell: trade = (portfolio + new money) × target share − what you hold
Buy only: buy = the larger of 0 and (λ × target share − what you hold), with λ set so the buys add up to the new money
Gap = share of the portfolio now (or after) − target share, in percentage points
- The holdings and targets are yours: the page does not say what a good mix is or whether the targets suit you. The defaults are an example mix.
- Buy only never sells. With too little new money, holdings that are over target stay over; the page says how much more money would get every holding to target.
- Selling in a taxable account can create a taxable gain, and trading can have costs; neither is counted. In a tax-advantaged account (401(k), IRA) selling does not trigger tax.
- Prices are taken as entered; fractional shares and minimum purchase sizes are ignored, so round the trades to what your accounts allow.
- Your 5-point band is only used to say whether you are off target. There is no single right band, and how often to check is your choice.
WORKED EXAMPLE · SAMPLE NUMBERS
$420,000 held plus $10,000 of new money = $430,000. Take bonds, the furthest from target: $60,000 is 14.3% of $420,000 against a 20.0% target, 5.7 points under. Buying only, it ends at $70,000 (16.3%).
SOURCES
[1]RebalancingInvestor.gov, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission[2]Asset AllocationInvestor.gov, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission[3]Topic no. 409: Capital gains and lossesInternal Revenue ServiceHSBuilt by Hussain Sehorewala · checked against worked examples · Sep 29, 2026
Keep this number honest as your life changes.
Put it on your Money Map and it re-runs as you change the seven numbers. It stays in this browser, and the calculator stays free.
Questions about this result
Over time some investments grow faster than others, so the mix drifts from the one you chose. Rebalancing sells some of what has grown and buys what has lagged, or directs new money to what is under target, to bring the mix back. It controls how much risk you carry; it does not raise expected returns.
Buying only avoids selling, which matters in a taxable account where a sale can trigger a gain. It works if you have enough new money; with too little, over-target holdings stay over. On the example on this page, $10,000 of new money in buy-only mode narrows the largest gap from 5.7 to 3.7 points, and it takes $30,000 to bring every holding to target without selling.
There is no single right answer. Some investors act when a holding is 5 percentage points off its target, some when it is a quarter off in relative terms, some on a calendar date. The band field only tells you whether you are outside the one you set.
Not inside a 401(k) or IRA. In a taxable account, selling something that has gone up can create a taxable capital gain. Rebalancing with new money, or in tax-advantaged accounts first, avoids most of that.
They are scaled so they do. The page shows the scaled shares in the table so you can see what it used.
Taxes on sales, trading costs, minimum purchase sizes, fractional shares, and which account holds what. The trades are the arithmetic to hit your targets; what your targets should be is your decision.
THE LEDGER · 12 minThe Advanced 2026 Tax Strategies That Create Generational Wealth
THE LEDGER · 8 minWhy Generic AI Falls Short for Financial Advice - And How Specialized Knowledge Changes Everything