Stocks and basis

[Derek Atkins]

Hi,

Ross Boylan <RossBoylan at stanfordalumni.org> writes:

> I've seen a number of wishes for easier handling of stock (at
> http://wiki.gnucash.org/wiki/WishList#Easier_Setup_of_Stocks and below,
> and also on this list).  However, it seems to me a deeper fix than
> "druids" is required.
>
> To handle many assets properly, one needs to view one's holdings as a
> collection of items, each of which has (among other things) a quantity,
> an acquisition date, and a basis (original cost/value).  Although
> gnucash can record the transactions that led to the current holdings, my
> impression is that it treats the holdings as an undifferentiated
> aggregate.
>
> One reason I think this is that when one sells shares, one isn't asked
> which shares are to be sold, and one has to provide the basis manually.
>
> Tracking acquisitions would also raise the issue of selling designated
> shares (I sold x shares acquired on date d with basis b), and of
> allowing people automatic selection of the lowest or highest basis
> shares to fill a sale.  Oldest or newest shares would be another method.
>
> (At least in the US, there are more wrinkles because of the tax
> distinction between short and long term holdings.  One might want to
> confine the choices to long-term holdings.)
>
> Would this be a significant change to the internal model of the program?

You've just described "Lots"...

> I have used gnucash to track some stocks and mutual funds, but it is
> really painful.  The 5 line split for a sale involves entering lots of
> redundant information (which presumably leads to the idea of a druid),
> some of which (the basis) should be known to the system.  As far as I
> know, there is no simple way to enter reinvested dividends.  I think
> using it with reinvested dividends would be even worse.  I have some new
> finances to track (my Mom's estate), but because of these difficulties
> I'm probably going to keep using an old DOS program, Managing Your
> Money, under an emulator.  This is a proprietary program, whose data
> format I've been unable to decipher, and whose manufacturer is defunct.
> So I'd rather use an open source solution.
>
> Ross Boylan

Well we'd certainly encourage you to help gnucash "get it right".

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-derek

-- 
       Derek Atkins, SB '93 MIT EE, SM '95 MIT Media Laboratory
       Member, MIT Student Information Processing Board  (SIPB)
       URL: http://web.mit.edu/warlord/    PP-ASEL-IA     N1NWH
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