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How to Build Custom Workspaces in Genesis RM: The Complete Guide

Stop Wrestling With Fixed Dashboards

Most financial platforms hand you a fixed layout and call it a dashboard. You either live with it or work around it. Genesis RM takes a different approach: your workspace is a blank canvas that you design once and refine over time.

Every professional has a different analytical workflow. A macro trader needs yield curve data and central bank rate monitors front-and-center. A fundamental investor wants company financials and news sentiment. A risk manager starts their day looking at VaR limits and breach alerts. Genesis RM’s workspace system adapts to all of them — simultaneously, and without compromise.

This guide walks through everything: from creating your first workspace to building a multi-page, professional-grade risk monitoring setup with the full widget library.


What Are Genesis RM Workspaces?

A workspace is a named, multi-page collection of widgets arranged on a drag-and-drop grid. Think of it as a customisable Bloomberg Terminal layout — but one you built yourself, for your specific strategy.

Key characteristics:

  • Multi-page: Organise different analytical views as tabbed pages within one workspace (for example: Market Overview / Risk Dashboard / Macro Research)
  • Drag-and-drop grid: Widgets snap to a responsive 12-column grid powered by GridStack.js
  • Persistent layouts: Every position and configuration is saved server-side and restores exactly as you left it
  • Portable: Export any workspace as JSON and import it on another account or share it with a colleague
  • Default workspace: Mark one workspace as your default — it opens automatically on every login

The Complete Widget Library

Before building a workspace, it helps to know what building blocks are available. Genesis RM ships with 20+ purpose-built widgets across five categories.

Market Widgets

Widget Description
Watchlist Central hub for monitoring stocks and portfolio positions with real-time prices, daily changes, and volume
Market Heatmap S&P 500 sector heatmap powered by real-time market data — see at a glance which sectors are advancing or declining
Price Card At-a-glance current price and daily change for any symbol. Ideal as a quick-reference header row
Company Overview Key company profile data: sector, industry, market cap, and description in a single panel

Analytics and Risk Widgets

Widget Description
Professional Chart Terminal-grade charting with candlestick, line, area, and bar chart types; technical indicators including RSI, MACD, Bollinger Bands, and moving averages
VaR Calculator Value at Risk using Historical Simulation, Parametric (variance-covariance), and Monte Carlo methods at configurable confidence levels
Portfolio Risk Metrics Sharpe ratio, annualised volatility, maximum drawdown, and VaR presented together in a single summary tile
Limit Monitor Price alerts and portfolio risk limits with real-time breach notifications
P&L Attribution Portfolio profit and loss analysis with breakdown by position, sector, and factor contribution
Sector Allocation Donut chart showing portfolio exposure by GICS sector — updated automatically as your holdings change
Factor Exposure Barra-style multi-factor risk model with factor exposures, risk decomposition, and return attribution across market, sector, and style factors
Fundamentals Analysis Company financials sourced directly from SEC XBRL filings: income statements, balance sheets, and cash flow statements across multiple reporting periods

Macro and Economic Indicator Widgets

Widget Description
Recession Monitor Yield curve inversion tracking and recession probability scoring using historical precedent
Inflation Monitor CPI, PCE, and inflation expectations in a single, time-series view
Consumer Sentiment University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index (UMCSENT) — one of the most-watched leading indicators
Employment Monitor Nonfarm Payrolls (PAYEMS) — the most closely tracked monthly labor market release
Financial Stress Composite stress indicators including the St. Louis Fed STLFSI, VIX, and investment-grade credit spreads
ECB Rate Monitor ECB Deposit Facility Rate versus Fed Funds Rate — side-by-side comparison of the two most influential central bank rates

Portfolio and Dashboard Widgets

Widget Description
Dashboard Overview High-level portfolio summary combining risk metrics, performance analytics, and key market data in one view

News Widgets

Widget Description
News Feed Real-time financial news with NLP-powered entity extraction — articles are automatically tagged with the companies and tickers they mention

Step 1: Create a New Workspace

  1. Open the Command Palette with Ctrl+K (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+K (Mac)
  2. Type “new workspace” and select Create New Workspace
  3. Enter a descriptive name — for example, “Morning Macro Review” or “Long/Short Equity Monitor”

Your workspace is created with a single blank page called Main, ready for widgets.

Tip: Create separate workspaces for different strategies or time horizons — one for active trading, one for long-term portfolio monitoring, one for macro research. Workspaces are free to create and switch between.


Step 2: Open the Workspace Builder

After creating a workspace, click its name to open the Workspace Builder — the visual editor where you arrange widgets.

The interface has three zones:

  • Left sidebar: The full widget library, organised by category (Market, Analytics, Macro, News)
  • Central canvas: Your 12-column drag-and-drop grid
  • Top toolbar: Page tabs, Save button, and workspace settings

Step 3: Add Widgets to Your Canvas

Click any widget in the left sidebar to add it to your canvas. New widgets are placed automatically at the next available grid position.

You can also use the Command Palette (Ctrl+K) to search for a specific widget by name — type “VaR” to find the VaR Calculator, or “heatmap” to jump straight to the Market Heatmap.

Starter Layout: Market Overview

For a balanced daily-overview workspace, this layout covers price action, context, and news:

Widget Grid Size Position
Watchlist 4 wide × 8 tall Left column
Market Heatmap 8 wide × 4 tall Right, top half
News Feed 8 wide × 4 tall Right, bottom half
Price Card (×3) 4 wide × 2 tall each Below watchlist

Starter Layout: Risk Dashboard

For a dedicated risk management page, this layout covers VaR, limits, attribution, and exposure:

Widget Grid Size Position
Portfolio Risk Metrics 6 wide × 3 tall Top left
VaR Calculator 6 wide × 3 tall Top right
Limit Monitor 6 wide × 4 tall Middle left
P&L Attribution 6 wide × 4 tall Middle right
Sector Allocation 4 wide × 3 tall Bottom left
Factor Exposure 8 wide × 3 tall Bottom right

Step 4: Arrange and Resize Widgets

Widgets sit on a 12-column responsive grid with 100px row height and 10px gutters. You have complete control over layout.

  • Move: Drag any widget by its title bar to reposition it. The grid snaps cleanly to the nearest cell.
  • Resize: Drag any of the 8 resize handles on a widget’s edges and corners. All directions are fully supported.

The grid stacks widgets compactly by default, eliminating gaps automatically.


Step 5: Configure Individual Widgets

Each widget has its own settings panel. Click the gear icon on any widget’s header bar to open it.

Configuration options vary by widget type:

  • Watchlist: Add and remove symbols, choose which columns to display (price, change, volume, market cap), set price alert thresholds
  • Professional Chart: Change the symbol, switch timeframe (1-minute to monthly), add or remove technical indicators (RSI, MACD, Bollinger Bands, moving averages), choose chart type (candlestick, line, area, bar)
  • VaR Calculator: Select confidence level (95% or 99%), calculation method (Historical, Parametric, or Monte Carlo), and lookback window
  • Limit Monitor: Define price and risk limits, set breach thresholds, configure alert behaviour
  • News Feed: Filter by sector, source, or sentiment score; toggle entity extraction tags
  • Fundamentals Analysis: Switch between Income Statement, Balance Sheet, and Cash Flow views; adjust the reporting period
  • Factor Exposure: Select which factor model to use and which risk attributions to display

All configuration changes persist automatically as part of your saved workspace layout.


Step 6: Configure your Workspace

Market Overview - Watchlist with your top positions - S&P 500 Market Heatmap - Financial News Feed with entity extraction - Price Cards for major indices (SPY, QQQ, IWM, DXY)

Risk Dashboard - Portfolio Risk Metrics summary (Sharpe, Vol, Max Drawdown, VaR) - VaR Calculator with Monte Carlo simulation - Limit Monitor for breach alerts - P&L Attribution by position and sector - Sector Allocation donut chart - Factor Exposure decomposition (market beta, size, value, momentum)

Macro Research - Recession Monitor (yield curve inversion and probability) - Inflation Monitor (CPI and PCE) - Consumer Sentiment Index (UMCSENT) - Employment Monitor (Nonfarm Payrolls) - Financial Stress Index (STLFSI + VIX + credit spreads) - ECB Rate Monitor vs. Fed Funds Rate


Step 7: Save Your Layout

Your workspace layout auto-saves continuously in the background. Every drag, resize, and configuration change is synced to the server without any action required.

To manually save at any point, click the Save button in the top toolbar.

To set a workspace as your default (the one that opens automatically on login):

  1. Go to the Workspaces list from the navigation sidebar
  2. Click the three-dot menu next to the workspace
  3. Select Set as Default

Keyboard Shortcuts Reference

Shortcut Action
Ctrl+K / Cmd+K Open Command Palette — search for any widget or action
Ctrl+S Save workspace layout manually
Ctrl+1Ctrl+9 Switch directly to workspace page 1 through 9
Esc Close modals, overlays, and configuration panels

Connected Widgets: Linked Symbol Context

Several widgets share a live symbol context. When you click a ticker in the Watchlist or a company name in the News Feed, the Professional Chart and Fundamentals Analysis widgets on the same page update automatically to show data for that symbol.

This linked-context behaviour means your workspace operates as a coordinated analytical environment — not a set of isolated panels — so navigating from a news headline to a chart to company financials takes a single click.


Frequently Asked Questions

How many workspaces can I create? There is no hard limit. Create as many workspaces as you need for different strategies, portfolios, or asset classes.

How many pages can a single workspace have? Pages are limited only by practical usability. Most professionals find 3 to 5 focused pages to be optimal.

Are my widget positions saved automatically? Yes. Every layout change auto-saves via a continuous background sync. You can also trigger a manual save with Ctrl+S at any time.

How do I duplicate a workspace? Export the workspace to JSON, then use the Import function to create a copy. Rename it and you have a fully independent duplicate.

Can I lock a widget so it does not move accidentally? Yes. Each widget has a lock setting in its configuration panel. When locked, the widget’s position and size cannot be changed until you unlock it.

What is the maximum widget size? Widgets can span the full 12 columns of the grid horizontally. There is no fixed vertical limit — widgets can be as tall as needed.

Can I share my workspace with a teammate? Yes, via the JSON export/import workflow. Full team workspace sharing with access controls is on the product roadmap.


What to Explore Next

With your workspace built, these features add the next layer of depth:

  • Risk Limit Alerts: Use the Limit Monitor to set VaR, drawdown, or position-size thresholds with real-time breach notifications
  • Factor Decomposition: Add the Factor Exposure widget to understand how much of your portfolio risk comes from market beta versus sector tilts versus style factors
  • Macro Cycle Tracking: Build a dedicated macro page combining Recession Monitor, Inflation Monitor, and Financial Stress Index to track where the economy is in the cycle
  • Fundamentals Deep Dive: The Fundamentals Analysis widget pulls directly from SEC XBRL filings — use it to analyse revenue trends, margin expansion, and balance sheet leverage without leaving your workspace

Built a layout you are proud of? Share your workspace with the community on Reddit or get help in the Help Center.

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