---
title: "What is a derived transaction portfolio?"
slug: "what-is-a-derived-transaction-portfolio"
updated: 2026-01-07T09:59:55Z
published: 2026-01-07T09:59:55Z
canonical: "support.lusid.com/what-is-a-derived-transaction-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.

# What is a derived transaction portfolio?

A *derived transaction portfolio* is an exact replica of its [parent](/v1/docs/what-is-a-transaction-portfolio) at the point it is created. [See how to create a derived portfolio](/v1/docs/how-do-i-create-a-derived-transaction-portfolio).

A derived portfolio inherits:

- Every transaction, including any `Transaction` properties and amendment history.
- Every `Portfolio` property.
- Portfolio settings such as accounting method, amortisation method, transaction type scope, list of sub-holding keys and so on. Note there are some inherited settings that you should never subsequently change, such as creation date and instrument scope.

A derived portfolio inherits subsequent changes to the parent **until such time as you change an attribute directly** in the derived portfolio. If you do this:

- The change does *not* flow back to the parent.
- The link between the two portfolios is now broken **for this attribute**. The derived portfolio no longer inherits subsequent changes to this attribute. It is not possible to reinstate this link in most circumstances.

> **Required reading**: [Understanding inheritance in derived portfolios](/v1/docs/transaction-syncing-in-derived-transaction-portfolios)

Derived portfolios in conjunction with scopes are a powerful construct. For example, to do pre-trade what-if analysis, you can create a derived portfolio in a new scope linked to the parent portfolio in the ‘official’ scope. You can then book scenario transactions in the derived portfolio and compare the performance of the two without affecting the live book. For a demonstration, see [this Jupyter Notebook](https://github.com/finbourne/sample-notebooks/blob/master/examples/use-cases/risk-and-performance/Backtesting%20with%20LUSID%20derived%20portfolios.ipynb).

Note that you can derived a portfolio from another derived portfolio if you wish.