How do I enter options, both vested and future?

Linas Vepstas linas@linas.org
Tue, 12 Jun 2001 16:47:16 -0500


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On Tue, Jun 12, 2001 at 08:29:38AM -0700, Cory Dodt was heard to remark:
> My company has given me stock options which I need to track using=20
> GnuCash.  How do I set up an account to track the value of these=20
> options?  Do I need to go all the way forward in time to 2009 to find=20
> the correct option chain for my grant? (Is that even possible?)  I just=
=20
> want a way to enter strike price and let it calculate the value of the=20
> asset as no.shares*(today's price - strike price).

fascinating question, haven't thought about that.=20

My first impulse is 'add a feature to gnucash code'. =20

Maybe you can work around it with an offsetting transfer:

create two accounts, one called 'xyz stock grant' one called 'xyz options'
transfer 200 shares from 'xyz stock grant' to 'xyz options'.  Thus, you
have net 0 shares.  Set the price for 'xyz stock grant' to the=20
strike price.  =20

If you use the same security for both accounts, this won't work,=20
since any price updates will affect both accounts, which is not what=20
you want.  To make it work, you'd have to set up 'xyz stock grant'=20
with some sort of fake security, so that its price doesn't update.
You'd also have to set up a price of 1.0 between the 'fake' security,
and the real one.

This method should work great if the options are 'in the money', but
will report the wrong net-worth if they are 'under water'.

Seems like the right solution is to add a feature to gnucash.

--linas

> Also, how do I enter unvested options?  As future grants?

as option grants at the future vesting dates...


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