Multi-currency cash accounts / transactions

[k_kirk]

Hi,

I am evaluating fund manager to track my portfolio which contains holdings in multiple currencies. I have 2 questions. Hope you can help me :

1) Do you intend to increase the current limit of 8 currencies that can be tracked? If so when is this likely?

2) How can I create cash accounts in each currency and then record a currency conversion transaction. Here's my scenario :

I setup a sub-portfolio for each currency I deal with. In each sub-portfolio I have one cash account. At times I sell my base currency and buy foreign currency to buy equities in that currency. I then need to keep the remaining foreign currency in the relevant cash account. When I sell the equity the proceeds also go to the foreign currency account and is held there until I reinvest or convert back to base currency.

Thanks for your clarification. Regards

[Mark]

Hi k_kirk,

1) We are considering increasing this, but I cannot say for certain when it will be implemented. There have been others requesting the limit of 8 currencies be increased as well.

2) I'm not sure how you have all your accounts set up, but here is some background on how default cash accounts work: Every sub-portfolio can have 0 or 1 default cash account assigned. This default cash account does not have to be located in this sub-portfolio, you could pick one from any sub-portfolio. Maybe you want to create a sub-portfolio for all your cash accounts, and assign the default cash account for this sub-portfolio to be your 'base currency' cash account. This way, anytime you want to exchange currency, you record a transaction in the foreign cash account, and the proceeds will automatically be transferred to/from your base currency account. Your other accounts could have their default cash accounts be set to their associated foreign currency account. Just an idea...

[k_kirk]

Hi Mark,

Thanks for your reply. I am suprised you got away with the limit of 8 currencies for so long. The limit is actually 7 currencies in addition to the base. Very limiting given the ease of investing in the global markets and opportunities these days. I would encourage you to consider this as a top priority. While at it, another suggestion would be to cater for 3 letter currency codes. The industry standard currency codes are all 3 letters and it would make life easier not having to remember what P, C, T & B stood for etc. Please post something definitive as to when you think you can support more than 7 currencies to be used in your software. I might be able to split my portfolio into two so as to get 14 currencies but this will defeat the purpose and will be cumbersome. My purchasing decision will be based on what I can expect in this area.

Your recommendation for currency conversions works reasonably well but the conversion rate defaults to that days listed rate. It is often the case that one's broker will have a different rate than the listed one. So while the entry is automatically created I still end up having to fix it. Also keeping the cash account out of the currency based sub-portfolio I don't get to see a complete picture of all my holdings in that particular currency including cash. So not an ideal solution. I hope that I can see some improvements in this area as well.

Thanks for all your hardwork in making this great software even better. Keep well

Regards
KK

[Mark]

Hi KK,

Thanks for your feedback. Making the currency codes three letters would also be a good improvement. This is an area we hope to improve on, but I cannot make any definitive statements about what will be implemented in any particular version.

[k_kirk]

Mark,

Thanks for your kind reply. I am still using your software and find that it is the best match for my needs despite the currency limitation. I have grown comfortable to the multi-currency cash management process so for me the only drop dead issue is the number of currencies the software supports at any given time. Is it at all possible to make this an urgent item to fix? If it is likely that this issue is going away in the near future then I will certainly be buying the Pro version. All I need is an indication on how long it might take.

I appreciate all your hard work and thank you for it. Regards

[Mark]

Hi k_kirk,

I cannot say for sure if/when this will be increased. I can tell you that it is on our list to consider for 9.0, but that does not mean it will for sure be implemented. It has not been implemented yet. I believe there is a reasonable to good chance it will be implemented, but this is just a guess at this point.

One potential work-around for the time being would be to use multiple portfolio files (*.mm4). Each portfolio file memorizes its own currency settings, so you can have 8 independent currencies in each portfolio file. I'm not sure if your holdings could easily be partitioned this way, but it is an option.

[k_kirk]

Mark,

Thanks. Dual portfolio is how I'm handling this now and I went ahead and bought a Pro license. I sure hope the v9 rolls out the door soon and that you consider putting the many currencies mod in. I appreciate your responsiveness on the forums and must say it was what convinced me to go ahead and buy. Thanks!!!

PS. If you need a beta tester for v9 let me know please.

Regards
KK