Investors in China often juggle A-shares on the Shanghai and Shenzhen exchanges alongside US stocks, global ETFs and crypto, yet most tools only show one slice at a time. This guide explains how to track all of it in one place, priced in CNY, with price alerts on WhatsApp and Telegram, and what local tools stop short of doing.
What is a portfolio tracker, and why do China-based investors need one?
A portfolio tracker is a single app that records every holding you own, across every broker and account, and shows your combined value, cost basis and profit and loss in one currency. For an investor in China, that currency is usually the Chinese yuan (CNY), even when half the portfolio sits in US dollars.
The problem most residents hit is fragmentation. A typical portfolio in China is split across several apps that do not talk to each other:
- Domestic A-shares held through a Chinese broker, priced in CNY.
- US and global stocks or ETFs held through an international broker, priced in USD.
- Crypto such as BTC-USD and ETH-USD on an exchange, priced in dollars or stablecoins.
Each app shows its own corner. None of them tells you what your total net worth is, in yuan, right now. That gap is exactly what a dedicated tracker closes.
Which exchanges do China investors track, and when are they open?
Mainland Chinese equities trade on two exchanges: the Shanghai Stock Exchange and the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. PortfolioTrackr supports both, with prices quoted in CNY, so your domestic holdings sit next to everything else you own.
Shanghai and Shenzhen trading hours and indices
Both mainland exchanges trade Monday to Friday, with a continuous morning session, a lunch break, and an afternoon session, closing for public holidays. The headline benchmarks a local investor watches are:
- The SSE Composite Index, which tracks all shares listed in Shanghai.
- The Shenzhen Component Index, which tracks the main board and growth names in Shenzhen.
- The CSI 300, a cross-market index of large caps drawn from both exchanges.
Because the two markets share the same clock, a tracker priced in CNY can refresh your A-share values together during the trading day and convert your foreign holdings to yuan at the same time.
What does CNY pricing mean when you also hold US stocks?
CNY pricing means every position, whatever currency it trades in, is converted and displayed in Chinese yuan so your total is one honest number. PortfolioTrackr supports multi-currency portfolios with all values convertible to CNY, which matters more than most new investors expect.
Here is why. Say you hold AAPL bought in US dollars. Your return in yuan has two moving parts:
- The change in the AAPL share price, measured in USD.
- The change in the USD/CNY exchange rate between your purchase and today.
A stock can rise in dollar terms while the dollar weakens against the yuan, and your real gain in CNY ends up smaller than the ticker suggests. The reverse also happens. A tracker that handles currency properly separates these effects instead of hiding them. If you want the mechanics in depth, our guide to tracking stocks and crypto together in one app walks through how mixed-currency holdings roll up into a single figure.
Why broker apps alone fall short here
A domestic broker app shows your A-shares in yuan and nothing else. An international broker app shows your US stocks in dollars and nothing else. Neither converts the other side, so you never see a blended CNY total without doing maths by hand. This is the single clearest reason a cross-market investor outgrows the native apps, a point we cover broadly in our portfolio tracker versus spreadsheet comparison.
How do China investors actually access A-shares, Hong Kong and global markets?
Access splits into three lanes, and most active investors use more than one. Understanding where each lane lives explains why a consolidated tracker is so useful.
Domestic A-shares
Residents buy A-shares directly through a mainland Chinese broker. This is the most common entry point and covers the bulk of a typical local portfolio. Foreign investors reach the same shares differently, through Stock Connect, the northbound channel that links Hong Kong to Shanghai and Shenzhen, which is why you often see A-shares described as Connect-eligible.
Hong Kong and global access
For stocks listed in Hong Kong and overseas, residents typically use either a domestic broker's cross-border product or an international broker. Among the directly connectable brokers on PortfolioTrackr, Interactive Brokers is the one global investors most often hold for US and international equities, and it syncs on every plan.
The practical consequence of these lanes:
- Your A-shares live in one app, in CNY.
- Your US and global stocks live in another, in USD.
- Your crypto lives in a third, in dollars or stablecoins.
No single broker shows the whole picture, because no single broker holds the whole picture.
How does dividend withholding work on foreign shares for China residents?
When you hold foreign shares, the country where the company is listed often withholds tax on dividends before the cash reaches you, and a treaty between that country and China can affect how much. This is a qualitative point, and the exact figures change, so treat specifics as something to confirm with a professional rather than memorise from a blog.
What a China-based holder of US shares should know in plain terms:
- US-listed dividends are commonly subject to withholding at source before you receive them.
- Many international brokers ask non-US clients to file a W-8BEN form, which certifies your foreign status and lets any applicable treaty rate apply.
- Keeping the gross and net dividend recorded matters, because your real yield is the net figure converted to yuan.
PortfolioTrackr does not file forms or calculate your tax. What it does is keep a clean, currency-aware record of what each holding paid, which is the raw material any accountant or filing needs. We deliberately state no percentages here: a wrong rate in a finance guide is worse than no rate at all.
What do China investors use today, and where do those tools stop?
Most local investors lean on a mix of broker apps, a notes app and a spreadsheet. Each works for one job and breaks at the seams between jobs. Here is an honest comparison.
| Tool | Good at | Where it stops |
|---|---|---|
| Domestic broker app | A-shares in CNY, live local prices | No USD stocks, no crypto, no blended total |
| International broker app | US and global stocks in USD | No A-shares, no CNY conversion of the lot |
| Crypto exchange app | BTC, ETH and altcoins | No equities, no unified net worth |
| Spreadsheet | Flexible, fully yours | Manual prices, no live alerts, error-prone FX |
The spreadsheet deserves a special mention because so many disciplined investors rely on one. It is flexible and private, but you update every price and every exchange rate by hand, and one stale USD/CNY cell quietly distorts your whole yuan total. A dedicated tracker removes that maintenance tax.
The common gap
Every tool above answers one question well and the cross-market question not at all. The question a China investor most wants answered is simple: what is my entire portfolio worth in yuan today, and how is each part doing? That is a consolidation job, not a broker job.
How does PortfolioTrackr fit a China-based investor?
PortfolioTrackr is built to sit above your brokers and exchanges, not replace them, pulling every holding into one CNY-denominated view. For an investor here, the fit comes down to a few concrete, verified capabilities.
- Shanghai and Shenzhen support, with A-share prices in CNY, so your domestic core shows correctly.
- Multi-currency portfolios, with every value convertible to CNY, so a USD holding and a yuan holding sum into one real total.
- Price alerts on WhatsApp and Telegram, which are the messaging apps many investors here already keep open.
How you get holdings in
Connecting a broker is optional. You can enter and maintain your portfolio in whatever way suits you, on every plan:
- Smart and Easy Import by voice, text or screenshot, so you can snap a broker statement and have positions read in.
- Bulk CSV import, handy for a long A-share list or an exchange export.
- Manual entry, which always works and is the only route for self-custody crypto, since PortfolioTrackr does not read wallet addresses.
If you do want direct sync, Alpaca, Bybit and Interactive Brokers connect directly on every plan, and 42 brokers connect through the SnapTrade bridge on a paid Pro or Lifetime plan. Each connected broker becomes its own read-only portfolio and does not count toward your portfolio limit. Our walkthrough on connecting a brokerage account to a portfolio tracker covers the setup step by step.
How price alerts work
Alerts in PortfolioTrackr are price levels only: a Target 1, a Target 2 and a stop-loss level on a position, or a price above or below on a watchlist entry. Every position and watchlist level is checked once a minute while the market is open, around the clock for crypto, and you hear within a minute of your level being hit. Mainland stocks are not checked overnight, at weekends or on exchange holidays, because the market is closed.
The tool reports status against your own levels, for example still below target or stop-loss level reached. It does not tell you what to do, and it does not send news, earnings or dividend alerts. The watchlist is on every plan, with 10 tickers on the free trial and Starter and 50 on Pro and Lifetime. Email, WhatsApp, Telegram and push alerts are on every plan; SMS is Pro and Lifetime only.
How do the plans compare for a cross-market China portfolio?
The capabilities a China investor relies on most, direct broker sync, Smart Import, CSV import and the combined view, are available without paying. The paid tiers mainly add the SnapTrade bridge and a larger watchlist.
| Feature | Free trial / Starter | Pro / Lifetime |
|---|---|---|
| Alpaca, Bybit, IBKR direct sync | Yes | Yes |
| Smart Import and CSV import | Yes | Yes |
| Watchlist tickers | 10 | 50 |
| SnapTrade bridge (42 brokers) | No | Yes |
The ALL PORTFOLIOS combined view is available to anyone with more than one portfolio, on every plan, which is the single most useful screen for someone holding A-shares, US stocks and crypto at once. For a broader feature-by-feature look across tools, see our real-data comparison of six portfolio trackers.
The bottom line
The best portfolio tracker for a China investor in 2026 is the one that shows A-shares and global holdings together in CNY, and PortfolioTrackr does exactly that: Shanghai and Shenzhen support, multi-currency portfolios convertible to yuan, and price alerts on WhatsApp and Telegram. Broker apps answer one market each; a spreadsheet makes you do the FX by hand. A consolidated tracker answers the real question, what is everything worth in yuan today, and keeps a clean record for whatever your accountant needs at filing time.
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Frequently asked questions
Can I track Shanghai and Shenzhen A-shares in one app with US stocks?
Yes. PortfolioTrackr supports the Shanghai and Shenzhen exchanges with prices in CNY, and holds them alongside US and global stocks, ETFs and crypto. Multi-currency portfolios convert everything to Chinese yuan, so you see one blended total instead of jumping between separate broker apps.
How does a tracker show my US stocks in Chinese yuan?
It converts each USD position to CNY using the exchange rate, so your return reflects both the share price move and the USD/CNY move. PortfolioTrackr handles this with multi-currency portfolios where all values are convertible to CNY, separating the stock and currency effects instead of hiding them.
Do I have to connect a broker to use PortfolioTrackr in China?
No. Connecting a broker is optional on every plan. You can add holdings by manual entry, Smart and Easy Import via voice, text or screenshot, or bulk CSV import. Alpaca, Bybit and Interactive Brokers also sync directly, and 42 brokers connect through the SnapTrade bridge on a paid plan.
What price alerts can I get for my China portfolio?
PortfolioTrackr offers price-level alerts only: Target 1, Target 2 and a stop-loss on a position, or a price above or below on a watchlist entry. Levels are checked once a minute while the market is open and around the clock for crypto, with notifications on WhatsApp, Telegram, email and push.
How is tax on foreign dividends handled for China residents?
Foreign shares often have tax withheld at source before dividends reach you, and brokers commonly ask non-US clients to file a W-8BEN. PortfolioTrackr keeps a currency-aware record of what each holding paid, but it does not file forms or calculate tax. Confirm specific rates with a qualified professional.