Your asset allocation is the mix across everything you own, not the mix inside any one account. To see it, add up the value of each asset class across every account and divide by the total. A combined view often looks quite different from any single account's.
Updated October 2026
Most people with several accounts hold different things in each. A 401(k) may offer a short list of funds. An individual retirement account (IRA) may hold a few funds chosen separately. A health savings account (HSA) may sit mostly in cash. A taxable brokerage account may hold whatever was bought over the years.
Looking at each account alone, you get four separate mixes and no overall answer. If your targets apply to the whole portfolio, the whole portfolio is what you measure.
Funds that hold several classes need to be split. A balanced fund that is 60% stocks and 40% bonds contributes to both lines, using the fund's own published breakdown. This is the fiddly part in a spreadsheet, and the reason many people only approximate it.
Four accounts total $160,000. Values by asset class:
| Account | Stocks | Bonds | Cash | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Taxable brokerage | $40,000 | $10,000 | $0 | $50,000 |
| IRA | $20,000 | $20,000 | $0 | $40,000 |
| 401(k) | $45,000 | $15,000 | $0 | $60,000 |
| HSA | $5,000 | $0 | $5,000 | $10,000 |
| All accounts | $110,000 | $45,000 | $5,000 | $160,000 |
Across everything, stocks are $110,000 of $160,000, or 68.8%. Bonds are 28.1% and cash is 3.1%. By account the picture varies: the taxable account is 80% stocks, the IRA 50%, the 401(k) 75% and the HSA 50%. No single account shows the 68.8% figure.
A combined view is for measurement. Accounts are not interchangeable: they have different tax treatment, contribution limits, withdrawal rules and investment menus. Moving money between them, or selling inside them, can have tax consequences that depend on account type. A tax professional can speak to your case. Seeing the combined number tells you where you stand. It does not tell you what to do.
Many people also look at the same data split by account type, taxable versus retirement, because that split affects how accessible the money is.
It also helps to decide in advance which accounts are in scope. Some people leave out an account they treat as separate, such as money set aside for a near-term purchase. There is no single correct boundary. What matters is that the same set of accounts goes into the total each time, so a change in the result reflects the markets and your contributions, not a change in what you counted.
Prices change daily but allocation changes slowly, so a monthly or quarterly refresh is enough for most people. Record all balances on the same date. Note contributions separately, since new money shifts the mix as well as price changes do. The portfolio drift guide covers how to compare the result with your targets.
Stridefly puts taxable, retirement and health savings accounts in one portfolio. It breaks the total down by asset class and sub-class, compares it with the targets you set, and shows drift. You can scope the view to everything, to one account owner, or to taxable versus retirement. Connect US brokerages through Plaid, or import positions from CSV.
Stridefly tracks. It does not recommend what to hold, and it does not place trades.
Read more on the investing page, or join the waitlist for the private beta.
It is the mix of asset classes measured over all your accounts together, instead of inside each account separately.
Total each asset class across the accounts as of one date, then divide each by the grand total.
That is your choice. Include it if your targets cover the whole portfolio, and use the same rule each time.
No. It measures the whole. Where assets sit can have tax effects, which a tax professional can explain.
Stridefly is in private beta. Join the waitlist and we will email you when a spot opens. Prefer to look around first? Demo mode lets you explore sample data before you connect anything.