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OpenFactsheet
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A free, open tool and a documented catalogue of factsheet tricks. Every claim is sourced and every figure can be reproduced. For a quick demonstration, the free example produces a full report in about a minute.

Press release

Release date to be announced. Sources are linked after each statement.

New free tool lets anyone fact-check an investment's sales pitch in about a minute, without sharing their data

OpenFactsheet (openfactsheet.org), a free and open-source project created by Prof. Andrés A. Bagnasco of UCU Business School, gives everyday investors an independent factsheet for any investment whose monthly returns they have. Calculations run entirely in the user's web browser, so files are never uploaded.

Investment factsheets are prepared by those who sell the products; EU supervisors list factsheets as marketing communications. OpenFactsheet applies one published methodology to every investment and shows every measure, including the worst historical fall, the time to recover, risk-adjusted results and warnings about unreliable data.E1

The project comes as long-running research shows that over the 20 years to 2025, more than 9 in 10 US large-cap active funds trailed the S&P 500, and that fees compound into large differences over time.E2E4

Alongside the tool, OpenFactsheet publishes "The Factsheet Tricks", a guide to ten documented ways investment marketing can flatter performance, and "The Fair Factsheet Standard", which invites the public to debate what every factsheet should show.

OpenFactsheet does not provide investment advice, and does not rate, rank or name investments. The underlying Python library is open source under the Apache-2.0 license.

Media contact: press@openfactsheet.org

Story angles

Each angle comes with its sources. Statistics are dated; check the edition before you publish.

  • Personal finance

    The one-minute test every investor should run before paying a fee.E4E7E12

    Run the example

  • Markets and business

    More than 9 in 10 US large-cap active funds trailed the index over 20 years. Why don't brochures say so?E2E3

  • Consumer protection

    Your fund's factsheet is a piece of marketing. EU rules say so.E1E22

  • Technology and privacy

    A finance tool that never sees your data: the calculations run in your browser, and the file never leaves your device.

    How data is handled

  • Education and culture

    The How to Lie with Statistics of investing: ten tricks, each backed by research.E24

    The Factsheet Tricks

  • ESG and climate

    When the label and the holdings don't match.E16E17

    Trick 9: story instead of evidence

Fact sheet and data notes

What the tool does, and what it doesn't. Please don't describe capabilities beyond this list.

It does

  • Analyzes any investment's monthly returns that you supply: a CSV or Excel file, or a pasted table.
  • Computes 97 measurements under one published methodology (version 0.1.0), and shows all of them.
  • Checks the data first (gaps, outliers, smoothed returns) and labels each figure with a confidence level.
  • Runs in the browser. The file never leaves the user's device.

It doesn't

  • Give advice, or rate, rank or recommend investments.
  • Look up funds by name or ticker, or fetch prices from the internet.
  • Read PDF factsheets (the web tool accepts CSV, Excel and pasted tables).
  • Assess fees, or tell whether returns are before or after fees.

Statistics on this site, with their editions: E2 SPIVA U.S. Year-End 2025, published March 2026; E3 U.S. Persistence Scorecard, Year-End 2025; E4 U.S. SEC, Office of Investor Education and Advocacy. Investor Bulletin: How Fees and Expenses Affect Your Investment Portfolio (updated July 2025).; E7 Mind the Gap 2026, published August 2026. All sources are on the evidence page.

Reproduce any figure yourself

  • Every figure about the example funds is computed by the openfactsheet library, version 0.1.0, methodology 0.1.0, from synthetic data that is labelled as such.
  • The web tool and the Python library run the same code: a test checks that they agree to ten decimal places.
  • The source code repository becomes public shortly; until then, anyone can rerun the examples in the free tool.
Run the exampleRead the methodology

Founder

Portrait of Prof. Andrés A. Bagnasco

Prof. Andrés A. Bagnasco

Prof. Andrés A. Bagnasco, of UCU Business School, created OpenFactsheet and wrote the openfactsheet methodology and library. LinkedIn profile

Founder photo (JPG)

Press kit

Download the full press kit (.zip)
OpenFactsheet logo with the tagline See the full picture
OpenFactsheet

Share images: every trick page has its own card, used automatically when you link to it, for example the lucky start date.

About OpenFactsheet

In 50 words

OpenFactsheet is a free, independent factsheet for any investment. Factsheets are written by the people selling the investment; OpenFactsheet gives you the other side. From an investment's monthly returns it shows the gains, the worst falls, the time to recover and whether the risk paid, using one open method. Created by Prof. Andrés A. Bagnasco.

In 150 words

OpenFactsheet (openfactsheet.org) is a free, open-source initiative that gives everyone the other side of the investment factsheet. Factsheets are prepared by those who sell the products; OpenFactsheet applies one published methodology to any investment's monthly returns and shows every measure, including the unflattering ones: growth, the biggest historical drop, the time it took to recover and risk-adjusted results, then the full analysis of 97 measurements under methodology version 0.1.0. Each figure carries a confidence label, and the data is checked for problems such as smoothed returns before anything is measured. The analysis runs in the user's web browser: the file never leaves their device and is never uploaded, stored or shared. No finance degree, coding or account is needed. Developers and investment professionals can use the same open-source Python library (Apache-2.0). OpenFactsheet was created by Prof. Andrés A. Bagnasco (UCU Business School). It does not provide investment advice, and does not rate, rank or name investments.

For local and regional desks

A template paragraph. Fill in the brackets for your readers.

Savers in [region] are offered investments through [banks, advisers, platforms or pension plans]. Before paying a fee, anyone can now run a free, independent check of an investment's track record at openfactsheet.org: the analysis runs in the browser, so the file never leaves the reader's device. [Local regulator] publishes guidance for investors at [link]. Ten questions to ask: openfactsheet.org/fair-factsheet.

Investor-protection authorities

Colors and type

Calm, readable and plain. Teal marks actions and gains, coral marks losses, and quoted sales claims are set in serif italic with the evidence beside them in blue.

Manrope
Headings and figures
Source Sans 3
Body text
IBM Plex Serif Italic
Quoted sales claims
IBM Plex Mono
Code

  • Midnight

    #102A37

    Text and headings

  • Warm white

    #FAFBF8

    Page background

  • Teal

    #197C70

    Actions and gains

  • Soft mint

    #DDF5EB

    Tints and highlights

  • Coral

    #B85250

    Losses only

  • Amber

    #B7762D

    Caution

  • Evidence blue

    #1F5BC0

    Annotations on quoted claims

OpenFactsheet in the news

Coverage will appear here.

Writing about OpenFactsheet? Get in touch at press@openfactsheet.org and we will add your piece.

Media contact

For interviews, data questions or a walkthrough of the methodology, contact:

press@openfactsheet.org

OpenFactsheet does not name, rate or recommend any investment or firm. The practices described are documented in research and regulation; see Sources.