05 / 09, 2025
Risk
A real time portfolio risk management dashboard for VaR, stress tests, correlations, and live monitoring.
Role
Solo engineer, FastAPI risk engine, React dashboard, WebSocket monitoring
Stack
FastAPI · React · TypeScript · React Query · WebSocket · VaR · Stress testing · Correlation analysis
Links
The Problem
The README positions this as a real time portfolio risk management system with comprehensive risk analysis: VaR, stress testing, correlation analysis, and live market data monitoring.
It is also designed to be explorable without API keys, using realistic demo data and simulated feeds so users can learn the risk concepts immediately.
The Architecture
01FastAPI risk backend
The backend centers on app.py, risk_engine.py, and market_data.py, exposing endpoints for all dashboard data, risk metrics, VaR analysis, correlation matrices, portfolio holdings, stress testing, and WebSocket live data.
02React + TypeScript dashboard
The frontend is split into Dashboard, VaRAnalysis, StressTest, CorrelationMatrix, LivePrices, MarketIndices, and DemoData components, with hooks for WebSocket management and risk data fetching.
03Multiple data source strategy
The README supports free generated data and CoinGecko, plus optional Alpha Vantage, Twelve Data, and Finnhub keys for live market data.
Decisions that mattered
Teach while showing the metric
Contextual help, explanations, educational banners, color coded charts, and formula sections make VaR, stress testing, correlation, and Sharpe ratio understandable instead of opaque.
Optimize dashboard performance
Lazy loading, React Query caching, hover based preloading, performance monitoring, and WebSocket fallback keep the real time surface responsive.
Offer demo mode first
Realistic demo data removes setup friction, letting the dashboard demonstrate portfolio risk concepts before users connect live market providers.
The Numbers
WS
live updates
3
VaR levels
6
core views
30s
cache stale time
What it taught me
Risk dashboards work best when they combine live numbers with explanations that help the user interpret what changed.
A no key demo mode is not a shortcut; it is a better first run experience for technical financial tooling.