Public Trading Journal: Automatically Import Stocks, ETFs and Options

Public is a US broker where you can hold stocks and ETFs, trade options, and buy crypto. A brokerage account records what you bought and sold; a separate journal helps you review why, and whether the decisions worked. The Financial Tech Wiz Trading Journal can connect an eligible Public account, route the activity the connection returns into the journal you choose, and organize it for review.

Key Takeaways

• Connect Public through Broker Auto Sync, then link each Public account to the journal or journals that should receive its trades.
• What imports depends on what the Public connection returns. Activity reported as stocks, ETFs, options or crypto can appear; Treasury bills and bonds are skipped by the broker importer.
• New links start with automatic sync on, with a refresh each morning before the market opens. You can turn it off for one-time use or request an update on demand.

Why a Public account benefits from a separate journal

Public lets you move between stocks, ETFs, options and crypto from one login. That convenience is also a review problem: the activity of a single month can contain a swing trade in a stock, a few option contracts, and a small crypto purchase, each with a different reason behind it.

A trading journal is the place for that second layer. Each trade gets a record, and over time the records answer questions a brokerage view cannot: which setups you actually repeat, where your results cluster, and whether your losses are bigger than the plan allowed. The journal does not replace your Public statements, and it does not manage cash, savings or other non-trade products. Those stay outside the journal. It is a trade review tool, and its quality depends on the trade records it receives.

If you are still deciding how much structure you need, the trading journals comparison shows the main options side by side, and the complete journal guide explains how the app is organized.

What Public offers, and what the journal can pick up

Public describes its platform as covering stocks, ETFs, options, crypto, bonds and Treasuries. You can confirm the current list on Public’s website. The journal does not mirror that catalog. It records the activity that the broker connection reports for your account and that the importer supports.

In practice, that means activity the connection returns as stocks, ETFs, options or crypto can appear in the journal. It does not mean every product, every coin, or every type of account event will. Staking, rewards, transfers and similar activity should not be assumed.

Treasury bills and bonds are skipped by the broker importer. Public offers Treasuries and bonds, so a Public account that holds them will not see those positions or purchases in a synced journal. If fixed income is a large part of your account, keep a separate record for it.

Connect your Public account to the journal

Broker Auto Sync requests activity from an eligible brokerage account. Check that Public appears in the broker selector for your account. A new broker connection requires a paid plan.

1. Open Broker Auto Sync in the Financial Tech Wiz Trading Journal.
2. Select Connect a broker and choose Public.
3. Sign in to your broker to authorize the connection and choose the initial Import history from date. Leave the date blank to request all history the broker provides; that is not a promise of lifetime history.
4. Link each Public account to the journal or journals that should receive its activity.
5. Review each account-to-journal link and its automatic-sync setting.

One Public account can feed its own journal, a combined journal, or several journals. Several accounts can also feed one combined journal. The default journal does not decide where imports go; the account-to-journal links you create do. If you trade more than one account, name your journals clearly so you know which activity a chart or total includes. The trade logging guide covers adding notes and stops.

How syncing works day to day

Automatic sync and one-time use

New links start with automatic sync on. The journal requests available broker activity every morning before the market opens. This is a scheduled refresh, not a live feed of each fill as it happens. The sync icon beside each journal link turns automatic sync off for that destination, which is the right choice when you want a one-time import.

Sync now and Sync all

Use Sync now to request an update for one Public account, or Sync all to request updates for every linked account. These ask for the data the connection can currently provide. They are on-demand requests, not real-time streaming, so a very recent execution may not appear until a later sync.

Needs reconnect

If a connection shows Needs reconnect, choose Reconnect and complete the authorization again. That is different from unlinking the account, and it is the first thing to try when updates stop arriving.

Unlinking without losing trades

Unlinking or disconnecting while automatic sync is on removes the trades that the account brought into that journal. If you want to keep imported trades, turn automatic sync off first. Routine updates never require clearing all trades from the journal, so avoid doing that to fix a refresh.

The initial history date is not saved as a permanent cutoff. A later sync or rebuild can include older history the connection makes available, so do not count on an old date to keep earlier activity out.

Executions, positions and options

The journal builds trades from reported executions. Current holdings alone do not create opening trades or establish purchase dates, and differences in holdings do not create inferred sales. If you bought a stock earlier today, the purchase may only appear after a later sync that reports the execution. When something looks missing, compare the symbol and date with your Public account before changing anything.

Compatible options fills can group into a multi-leg position when the broker supplies a shared order reference and the legs fit a supported structure. When the reference is missing, the importer falls back to individual matching. Do not assume that every spread will group, and do not assume every spread will stay separate. Avoid typing the same fills in by hand while sync also imports them, because separate routes do not share a universal duplicate guarantee.

Other routes exist for activity the connection does not cover: importing a broker CSV, importing from the template file, adding a trade with the New trade form (which shows where it will be saved), or sending records from your own tools through API or MCP imports. API and MCP imports do not connect brokers, toggle sync or place orders. Choose one route for a given set of trades, and label manual records so you can tell them apart.

What you can review once Public activity is in the journal

For activity in the journal, supported analytics include win rate and P&L across your positions, including options, broken down by symbol and hold duration. Use the Trades tab to search notes and tags; those searches do not filter the aggregate Analytics statistics, so open the individual trades behind a summary before drawing a conclusion.

The journal can also show results as R multiples, which measure profit or loss against the initial risk. A stock or crypto trade needs an initial stop recorded on the trade, because the journal never invents one. A long option or debit position can use its premium as the risk. Broker sync does not supply your stop, so add it to each trade you want measured this way.

You can also ask the AI Trading Coach about your own trade history inside the journal, such as which symbols drive most of your losses or how your options results compare with your stock trades. Use its answer as a lead, then open the trades it points to.

Portfolio Performance has two forms. The automated version estimates a curve from logged trades and available prices, with limits from price coverage and inferred cash, and it does not need a daily balance entry. Recording your starting balance and cash flows gives the closest match. The manual version uses net liquidity that you record separately. Neither is an exact reconstruction of your Public balance.

A review routine that fits a multi-asset account

1. Before a trade, write down the thesis, setup and planned risk, including the stop for stocks and crypto. Add the stop to the trade once it imports, rather than entering the same fill by hand.
2. After the morning refresh or a manual sync, confirm that the Public account links to the journal you intend to review.
3. Scan new trades, fix labels, and add notes while the reasoning is fresh.
4. Review supported results by symbol and hold duration, then open the trades behind any number that surprises you.
5. Keep one Portfolio Performance method when comparing periods, and note the starting balance and cash flows you used.

Scanners and backtests in the same membership

Members of the journal also get a scanner suite and backtests. The Daily Pivot Breakout Scanner history goes back to 2000, with backtests of its scans. Each other scanner’s free page states when its own history starts. The free pages on the scanners page are five trading sessions delayed, while members see current results in the app. Results on historical data are hypothetical and do not guarantee future returns.

Choosing a broker and a journal separately

Your broker and your journal are separate choices. If you are still comparing brokers, the best trading platforms guide covers the main options.

If you would rather start by hand, the free trading journal template is a Google Sheets option for manual entry. It is a different workflow from broker sync, with every trade entered by hand.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a free trading journal template for Public accounts?

Yes, if you want to enter trades yourself. The free trading journal template is a Google Sheets file for manual tracking. The Financial Tech Wiz Trading Journal has a free account with structured trade records and performance analytics, and its paid plans add Broker Auto Sync for eligible accounts. Choose based on how much you want to enter by hand.

Does Public have a built-in trading journal?

The Financial Tech Wiz Trading Journal is a separate tool from Public. It connects to an eligible Public account and keeps its own records. Check Public’s own platform for what it provides inside the brokerage.

Does the journal import options and crypto from Public?

It can, depending on what the Public connection returns. Options fills reported by the connection can import, and compatible multi-leg fills can group when a shared order reference is supplied. Crypto fills that the connection reports as crypto import as crypto trades. Not every coin or product is guaranteed, and staking, rewards and transfers should not be assumed.

Are Treasuries and bonds imported?

No. Treasury bills and bonds are skipped by the broker importer, even though Public offers them. Keep a separate record for those holdings.