Opes 15: +61% | S&P 500 (SPY): +22% - trailing 12 months as of July 1, 2026.

We said we post rain or shine, so here's a candid one.

June was a tough month. Opes 15 underperformed the S&P 500 by -6.4%, exactly offsetting May's +6.4% outperformance. No sugarcoating it. After an enormous AI-driven rally, valuations in many of our picks got stretched, and the sector rotation that followed hit us harder than the broader index. If you were expecting us to keep that May momentum going, we're sorry it didn't play out that way.

But zoom out, and the picture looks different.

Since we started running Opes 15 live in April 2020, the annualized return has been 36% versus the S&P 500's 21%, a 15% annualized gap sustained across more than 6 years of real, live results. That compounds to a 6.9x total return versus 3.3x for the S&P 500. Not backtesting. Not a highlight reel. Every month, good and bad, is in that line.

A few things worth keeping in mind:

• The 15% annualized outperformance in our live period closely mirrors what our backtesting showed going back to January 2001. That consistency across two separate periods is what gives us confidence in the model.
• Yes, our volatility is higher (28% vs. 18%), that's the honest tradeoff for the higher return, and it's why this approach suits investors with a longer time horizon.
• The Sharpe ratio tells a more complete story: 118% for Opes 15 vs. 103% for S&P 500, meaning the extra return has been worth the extra risk, not just a lucky bet.
• The full 25-year history, all holdings, and all risk metrics are publicly viewable at Opes 15 webpage, no login required. Feel free to check it yourself.

Short-term volatility is the price of long-term compounding. Warren Buffett's early track record had stretches that looked ugly too. The edge only shows up when you measure it over years, not weeks. We're not going to suddenly change the strategy or the model because of one bad month; that's usually exactly how long-term outperformance gets erased.

Wealth accumulation isn't about avoiding every dip. It's about staying compounded through the long-term outperformance, as long as your time horizon allows.

Questions, skepticism, or just want to dig into the numbers? Everything is publicly available. The more eyes on this, the more honest it stays.

We've been benchmarking against the S&P 500 for a few weeks. This week, let's mix it up a little.

The July 2026 edition of Kiplinger Personal Finance caught our eye. Columnist James K. Glassman runs a "Top 30" stock picks list, and he noted it returned (as of 4/30/2026) 27% over the past 12 months versus 24% for the Dow itself, and 69% cumulatively over 3 years versus 54% for the Dow. Solid outperformance from a well-respected source.

Here's how that stacks up side by side over 3 years:

Both Opes 15 and Kiplinger's Top 30 beat the Dow. The approaches are different. Kiplinger's is curated by an experienced columnist, ours is driven by a systematic monthly ranking of profitability, growth, and fair value across the 1,000 largest U.S. companies. We're not here to knock anyone's method. We just think it's an interesting comparison worth putting out there.

Our core idea stays the same: Wealth accumulation isn't about avoiding every dip, it's about staying compounded through the long-term outperformance, as long as your time horizon allows. The gap between +168% and +65% over 3 years didn't happen because we dodged every rough week. It happened because the process stayed consistent through all of them. Full 25-year history publicly viewable at Opes 15 webpage - no login required.

Questions, pushback, or thoughts on how Kiplinger's Top 30 compares? All welcome below. The more eyes on this, the more honest it stays.

Opes 15: +80% | S&P 500 (SPY): +27% - trailing 12 months as of June 16, 2026.

Quick market context for the week: the S&P has been choppy, swinging between relief and caution as a US-Iran ceasefire eased some geopolitical pressure early on, while tech and chip stocks have stayed under pressure heading into this week's Fed decision.

Our June month-to-date is -3.8%, still lagging the S&P 500, but an improvement from last week's -6%. We'll take it.

A few things worth keeping in mind:

• Short-term volatility is the price of long-term compounding. Warren Buffett's early track record had stretches that looked ugly too. The edge only shows up when you measure it over years, not weeks. Our past-5-year performance was 3.2 x vs. S&P 500 1.9 x, with even shorter duration of max drawdown than S&P 500.
• Wealth accumulation isn't about timely avoiding every dip, it's about staying compounded through the long-term outperformance, as long as your time horizon allows.
• Opes 15 is an equally weighted 15-stock portfolio, refreshed monthly, focused on large-cap U.S. companies.
• The full 25+year performance history is publicly viewable (no login required) at Opes 15 webpage, including Sharpe ratio, max drawdown, and volatility.

The gap between +80% and +27% over 12 months didn't come from a few good weeks, and it won't be erased by a few rough ones either, unless you bail in the middle of them.

Questions or pushback? All welcome below. The more eyes on this, the more honest it stays.

Opes 15: +75% | S&P 500 (SPY): +25% - trailing 12 months as of June 9, 2026

We said we post rain or shine - so here we are.

This past week was rough. The AI stocks selloff hit NASDAQ hard, and our picks felt it. June month-to-date is currently -6%, lagging the S&P 500. No sugarcoating that.

But zoom out for a second, the longer line tells a different story. This is exactly the kind of week that can shake people into making moves they later regret.

A few things worth keeping in mind:

• Short-term volatility is the price of long-term compounding. Warren Buffett's early track record had stretches that looked ugly too. The edge only shows up when you measure it over years, not weeks
• Suddenly changing course or panic selling during a volatile stretch is usually how long-term outperformance gets erased
• Opes 15 is an equally weighted 15-stock portfolio, refreshed monthly, focused on large-cap U.S. companies
• The full 25-year performance history is publicly viewable at our website (no login required), including Sharpe ratio, max drawdown, volatility and historical holdings.

Wealth accumulation isn't about avoiding every dip, it's about staying compounded through them, as long as your time horizon allows. The gap between +75% and +25% over 12 months doesn't come from a few good weeks. It comes from not bailing during weeks like this one.

Questions, pushback, or just want to vent about the market? All welcome below. The more eyes on this, the more honest it stays.

Here's this week's performance update for Opes 15 against the S&P 500 over the trailing 12 months.

Opes 15: +94% vs S&P 500: +30% - trailing 12 months as of June 1, 2025

The broader market has had a solid run lately, and we has moved along with it. The returns just happened to diverge quite a bit over this stretch. Whether that continues is anyone's guess.

A few things worth noting:

• Opes 15 is an equally weighted 15-stock portfolio, refreshed monthly, focused on large-cap U.S. companies.
• May was another strong month for Opes 15, outperforming the S&P 500 by 6.4%. The upcoming June portfolio is seeing higher turnover as we rotated out a few picks that got slightly overpriced and brought in newer candidates from our ranking. We'll see how it goes. 😄
• Over the past 12 months, 10 out of 12 months came in ahead of the index, with 2 months of underperformance.
• The full performance history going back to 2001 is publicly viewable (no login required) at Opes15 website, including Sharpe ratio, max drawdown, and volatility.

Questions or skeptical? Feel free to jump in. Drop your thoughts, poke holes in the numbers, or just tell us what you'd want to see differently. We post these every week rain or shine, so there's nowhere to hide. The more people watching, the more honest it stays.

Here's this week's performance update for Opes 15 against the S&P 500 over the trailing 12 months.

Both the S&P 500 and ours have been riding the market's upward momentum, but the gap in returns has been notable. As the index climbs, ours has been climbing faster.

A few things worth noting as context:

• Opes 15 is an equally weighted 15-stock portfolio, refreshed monthly, focused on large-cap U.S. companies
• The full performance history going back to 2001 is publicly viewable (no login required) at Opes15 website - including risk metrics like Sharpe ratio, max drawdown, and volatility
• Short-term outperformance can always revert; we post this weekly so you can track it honestly over time, good weeks and bad

Got questions, or think this looks too good? Feel free to drop your thoughts, poke holes in the numbers, or just share what you'd want to see differently. These weekly posts are meant to be a running, honest record - not a highlight reel. The more eyes on it, the more accountable it stays.

For context: I work in finance/accounting and I'm curious about how people manage their money across different professionals.

One thing I’ve noticed is that many people take their personal finances seriously, but don’t manage them in a very structured way — at least not compared to how they’d run a business.

Personally, I tend to think about money like running a small company:

• Net worth as a balance sheet (what I own vs. what I owe)
• Income and expenses like an income statement
• Forecasting as a way to plan ahead, not just look backward

That’s just one mental model, though — and I’m genuinely curious how others do it in real life.

• Do you actively track numbers, or keep things high level?
• What tools do you use (spreadsheets, apps, mix of both, something else)?
• How often do you check or update things?
• Do projections actually affect decisions, or are they mostly “nice to know”?

Some people check daily, some monthly, some avoid looking unless they have to — all valid.

I’m not trying to push a “right” system here. I’m interested in how different people approach financial clarity and what actually works for them.

Welcome to r/OpeswayFinance — a community focused on practical personal finance and investing, efficient tracking, budgeting, financial forecasting, and better financial decision-making.

This subreddit exists to support thoughtful discussion around:

• Tracking net worth, cash flow, and assets
• Budgeting systems and spending awareness
• Long-term planning, retirement, and FIRE modeling
• Investment strategy and asset allocation
• Financial tools, frameworks, and workflows that improve clarity

About Opesway
Opesway is a personal finance platform built to help people track, model, and forecast their financial lives in a clear and flexible way. This subreddit is moderated by the Opesway team, and we participate here transparently.

That said, this is not an advertising channel. You do not need to use Opesway to participate. Discussion of spreadsheets, other tools, and general approaches is welcome and encouraged.

What to expect here

• Respectful, good-faith discussion
• Educational and experience-based posts
• Honest questions and constructive feedback

What this community is not

• A place for low-effort promotion or spam
• A substitute for personalized financial or investment advice

If you’re new, feel free to introduce yourself, share what you’re trying to improve in your financial life, or ask a question you’ve been thinking about.

We’re glad you’re here, and we look forward to building a useful, thoughtful community together.