Re: Cost/Value - Capital Gain/Loss

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Posted by Mark on April 18, 2006 at 10:22:03:

In Reply to: Cost/Value - Capital Gain/Loss posted by George Keaveney on April 18, 2006 at 09:20:16:

: Is there a means to show in the graphs the actual cost (purchase plus dividends and gains) versus the value? The graph I have only shows the out of pocket costs. No dividends or gains are reflected.

: In determining the realized capital gain/loss of an investment at sale is there a way to find this for the sale of an entire investment without having to specifiy individual lots?

Hello George,

The graphs that plot cost are always plotting your "Out of Pocket" cost, not your "Tax Basis" cost. This means that if you had a reinvested dividend or capital gain distribution, your out of pocket cost basis does not change. If you received it in cash however, then your out of pocket cost would go down. Out of pocket cost is meant to show the total amount of money you have spent, so you can see your overall break-even point. There is no option to plot tax basis cost instead.

If you're looking for your tax cost basis, you can use reports or the Portfolio Editor instead of graphs.

Portfolio Editor: Use "View / List Columns..." to turn on any of these fields:

FIFO Basis
FIFO Unrlz Gain
AVG Basis
AVG Unrlz Gain
Spec Lot Basis
Spec Lot Unrlz Gain

The "Basis" fields are your tax cost basis for that accounting method. The "Unrlz Gain" fields are how much gain/loss you would have if you sold your remaining share balance.

Reports:

Use a "Custom" report, and look at the fields beginning with "Tax basis". There are all the equivalent fields (and more) available in the custom report.

Thanks,
Mark
--
Fund Manager - Portfolio Management Software

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