Significance of the Price Data Type

[Ivan]

Hi Mark,

Can you explain the significance of the Prices Data Type and what the values of in the Close and Value column mean when looking at the Data Register when the Price Data Type is selected. Can you point me to documentation which explains this.

I am asking partly because I am going back and editing some buy and sell transactions, but this appears not to change the values associated with the Prices data type. Do I need to edit those independently?

Thanks,
Ivan

[Mark]

Hi Ivan,

Sure. The "Prices" data type is showing you the recorded closing prices. This is also open, high, low, and volume if available. The "Value" column is simply showing what the value of that investment is, given that recorded closing price, and the number of shares you own, which is based off your recorded transactions. You aren't actually seeing any transactions under this data type, only pricing information, and the resulting value.

We do have a tutorial on the Data Register, which you might like to watch:

http://www.fundmanagersoftware.com/tuto ... video.html

The online documentation for the Data Register is available here:

http://www.fundmanagersoftware.com/help ... ldata.html

When you edit a transaction, that does not change your recorded closing price. The transaction price and closing price are independent. If you record a new buy/sell and there is no recorded closing price, Fund Manager will use your transaction price to record a closing price. However, if there is already a closing price recorded for a date, editing or adding a new transaction on that date will not affect the already recorded closing price. You can add/edit/delete closing prices in the data register, under the prices data type.

[Ivan]

Thanks again Mark. I think I have figured out what is confusing me, but I'm not sure what's causing it. Entering a buy or sell transaction does not set or update the Price value. Rather the Price for that day ends up overriding what I enter in the Data Register. So if I want to update a transaction, I have to delete the Price for that day. Otherwise the FM will ignore the Price I enter (or let the dialog calculate for me) in the Data Register.

Similarly, when I enter the first transaction for a new investment, I find that there must be a value for the Price Data Type either prior to my investment date or the day of. If there is one for the day of, again it ends up being used for my transaction rather that what comes from the Data Register. So I end up having to enter a fake Price for the day before my transaction, enter the transaction, and then delete the fake price entry. This can't be right. Please tell me what I am doing wrong.

[Mark]

Hi Ivan,

I didn't quite follow that... Let me try to explain the concept, hopefully this will help. You can record transactions at whatever price you want. Transactions are like buys/sells. The price you pay or receive in a buy/sell is independent from the daily closing price. Daily closing prices can be viewed under the "Prices" data type. Transactions can be viewed under the "Investments (all)" data type.

When you edit a transaction, the price you set the transaction to is independent of the daily closing price. The transaction and market prices are separate. You can have many different transactions on a given day, all with different prices, and different from the closing price.

There is a requirement in FM, that if you have a transaction on a particular date, you must also have a closing price recorded on that date. It won't let you delete a price for a date where you have a transaction recorded. You can edit the transaction, and also edit the closing price if you want.

[Ivan]

Mark,

I'm not sure what I was doing wrong, but it seems to be working now. Sorry for the confusion and thanks for the help.

Ivan