---
title: "How do I create a reference portfolio?"
slug: "how-do-i-create-a-reference-portfolio"
tags: ["index", "reference", "portfolio", "blended benchmark"]
updated: 2024-08-30T14:58:33Z
published: 2024-08-30T14:58:33Z
canonical: "support.lusid.com/how-do-i-create-a-reference-portfolio"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://support.lusid.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# How do I create a reference portfolio?

Providing you have suitable [access control permissions](/v1/docs/identity-management-and-access-control-iam), you can create a [reference portfolio](/v1/docs/what-is-a-reference-portfolio) to model an index in LUSID.

> **Note:** Once created, you can only change certain characteristics of a reference portfolio in some circumstances. [More information](/v1/docs/updating-certain-characteristics-of-an-existing-portfolio).

To create a reference portfolio, you must specify a unique identifier and friendly name. You can optionally:

- Nominate a base (or reporting) currency. This must be in the form of an [ISO 4217 currency code](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_4217#Numeric_codes), for example `GBP` or `JPY`.
- Specify a [creation date](/v1/docs/understanding-the-importance-of-portfolio-creation-date) prior to today (the default). This is important if you intend to load historical constituents.
- Register an [instrument scope](/v1/docs/understanding-instrument-scopes) in order to resolve constituents to instruments mastered in that scope, before falling back to the `default` instrument scope.
- Add [custom properties](/v1/docs/properties) to store additional information about the portfolio not recorded by the standard set of data fields. These properties must be from the `Portfolio` domain.

To examine the complete set of data fields for a reference portfolio, examine the [API documentation](https://www.lusid.com/docs/api#operation/CreateReferencePortfolio). Note that to subsequently interact you can use the APIs in the [Portfolios](https://www.lusid.com/docs/api#tag/Portfolios) collection as well as the [Reference Portfolios](https://www.lusid.com/docs/api#tag/Reference-Portfolio) collection.

There are several ways to create a reference portfolio:

- [Using the LUSID REST API](/v1/docs/how-do-i-create-a-reference-portfolio#using-the-lusid-rest-api)
- [Using the LUSID web app](/v1/docs/how-do-i-create-a-reference-portfolio#using-the-lusid-web-app)
- If you have a Luminesce license, by [writing a SQL query](/v1/docs/lusidportfoliowriter).

## Using the LUSID REST API

1. [Obtain an API access token](/v1/docs/how-do-i-obtain-and-use-a-short-lived-api-access-token-from-okta).
2. Call the LUSID [CreateReferencePortfolio](https://www.lusid.com/docs/api#operation/CreateReferencePortfolio) API for your LUSID domain, passing in your API access token, nominating a `scope` in the URL, and specifying in the request body:

For example, to create a GBP-denominated portfolio with a creation date at the start of 2022 in `myexamplescope` (this is created if it does not exist):

```json
curl -X POST "https://<your-domain>.lusid.com/api/api/referenceportfolios/myexamplescope"
  -H "Authorization: Bearer <your-API-access-token>"
  -H "Content-Type: application/json"
  -d '{
    "displayName": "Example reference portfolio",
    "code": "Index",
    "created": "2022-01-01T00:00:00Z",
    "baseCurrency": "GBP"
  }'
```

Providing the request is successful, the response lists the values applied to optional data fields. Note the identifier for the portfolio entity consists of the `scope` and `code`:

```json
{
    "id": {
        "scope": "myexamplescope",
        "code": "Index"
    },
    "type": "Reference",
    "displayName": "Example reference portfolio",
    "created": "2022-01-01T00:00:00.0000000+00:00",
    "version": {
        "effectiveFrom": "2022-01-01T00:00:00.0000000+00:00",
        "asAtDate": "2022-10-07T11:31:51.3585380+00:00"
    },
    "isDerived": false,
    "baseCurrency": "GBP",
    "instrumentScopes": [],
    "accountingMethod": "Default",
    "amortisationMethod": "NoAmortisation",
}
```
  - A `displayName`.
  - A `code` unique to the `scope`.

## Using the LUSID web app

1. Sign in to the [LUSID web app](https://www.lusid.com/app) using the credentials of a LUSID administrator.
2. From the top left menu, select **Data Management > Portfolios**.
3. Click the **Create Portfolio** button (top right).
4. On the **Basic data** screen of the **Create Portfolio** dialog, choose `Reference` from the **Type** dropdown menu, and specify a **Scope**, **Code** and **Effective date**: ![](https://cdn.document360.io/d575ad81-c0ed-4980-bbd1-d59ac5c3de82/Images/Documentation/af53228d-7d4a-42cb-9f68-fa0d734709c3.png?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-11-09T06%3A00%3A04Z&se=2026-11-09T07%3A00%3A04Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=ZMpKDONV7NO3805DbEB2Vcz%2BSjlVfQk9GX789d7NehQ%3D)
5. Complete the other optional fields if desired and click the **Create** button on the **Property constraints** screen.