VestLens brings Wealthsimple portfolio data to Claude and ChatGPT

Natural language for finance

VestLens is a new tool designed for Canadian investors who want to interact with their investment data using AI assistants. By connecting to Wealthsimple accounts, the app allows users to ask Claude or ChatGPT questions about their specific holdings and financial performance. Instead of manually digging through brokerage statements, users can receive answers in plain English.

The tool provides a variety of specific data points, such as how much a user has in US stocks or how much they earned in dividends this year. It also calculates performance by taking deposits out of the total return to show a more accurate picture of growth. This helps investors understand their actual returns against market benchmarks like the S&P/TSX or XEQT.

Because the tool is built as an MCP (Model Context Protocol) app, it functions as a connector for these AI platforms. This means the AI can pull in real data to generate interactive views and specific reports. Users can ask for a "report card" to see how individual holdings performed since they were purchased.

Security and read-only access

A primary focus of VestLens is ensuring that the AI never has the power to move money or execute trades. The tool is strictly read-only, meaning it can see the account data but lacks any "buy" or "sell" buttons. This separation of concerns is intended to give users peace of mind when connecting sensitive financial information to a large language model.

The connection happens through a third-party service called SnapTrade. When a user signs in, they do so on SnapTrade's page rather than directly within the chat interface. VestLens never sees the user's brokerage password, only the encrypted connection and the snapshots of the account data needed to answer questions.

The developers state that they would rather show a gap in information than provide a guess. If a brokerage does not report a specific figure, the tool will display that it is missing rather than creating an estimate. This transparency ensures that the numbers provided by the AI remain grounded in the actual data provided by the brokerage.

Unified Canadian views

For Canadian investors, VestLens aims to simplify the complexity of multi-currency portfolios. It automatically converts all holdings into Canadian dollars so that every account can be viewed in one place. Amounts converted from US dollars use the Bank of Canada rate and are marked with an "est." tag and the date of the rate.

The tool also tracks specific Canadian tax-advantaged accounts like the TFSA and FHSA. It can calculate how much contribution room a user has left for the year based on their own deposits and withdrawals. This helps investors plan their contributions without having to manually track their limits across different accounts.

Users can also set personal limits, such as ensuring no single stock makes up more than 10% of their total portfolio. VestLens checks these limits against real holdings to provide a constant check on diversification. It also tracks fees and currency conversion costs to show the true cost of trading over time.

How the data updates

While the tool provides a high level of detail, the data is not updated in real-time. Balances and holdings are updated once a day through SnapTrade, which means they may be slightly behind the live Wealthsimple app. However, the "today's change" figures do use current market prices to give a sense of the day's movement.

The tool is currently available for Wealthsimple self-directed accounts, including crypto and non-registered accounts. It does not support managed Wealthsimple portfolios, as those are not available through the SnapTrade connection. The developers have indicated that more brokerages will be added in the future.

The service is currently free during its early access phase. The team is limiting the initial rollout to 50 people to ensure every number is correct before opening it up to a wider audience. Once these spots are filled, interested users can join a waitlist for future access.