Stocks and basis

[Ross Boylan]

On Fri, 2008-02-08 at 09:22 -0500, Derek Atkins wrote:
> 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"...
Is lots a feature that exists now?  Can I use it?  Or is this something
that has been proposed?

Some recent discussion concerned managing invoices and seemed to raise
similar issues, with people interested in applying payments to certain
invoices.  However, it seems the invoices do exist; there just aren't
hooks for picking the ordering.

That's similar to the problem of selling x shares, and deciding exactly
which shares you sold.