Tag: tips

Importing your transactions into EquityStat

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Do you have a lot of transactions that you need to import into EquityStat that you don’t want to manually enter? If so then you can use EquityStat’s import feature to import these transactions.

To import your transactions first get these transactions into a CSV (comma separated variable) file. The easiest way to generate a CSV file is to use Excel or any other spreadsheet application. With Excel you can enter your data into a spreadsheet and then save the file as a CSV file.

The CSV file must be in a certain format for you to import your transactions into your portfolio. The first line in the file must identify what each column is. The following column indentifiers are valid – Symbol, Date, TranType, Quantity, Price, Amount, Commission.

The valid values for the TranType column are Buy, Sell, Div, Rediv (Re-invested Dividend), Longcg (Long-Term Capital Gain), Shortcg (Short-Term Capital Gain), Relongcg (Re-Invest Long Term Capital Gain), Reshortcg (Re-Invest Short Term Capital Gain).

If you have a TranType value of Div then you will need an Amount column and you will not need the Quantity and Price column. If you have a TranType value of something other than a non re-invested dividend or non re-invested capital gain, you will need a Quantity and Price column. All rows must have a Symbol and Date column.

Here is a screen shot of a sample Excel file in the proper format.

Import Transactions into EquityStat's Stock Portfolio Tracker
Import transactions into EquityStat

Once you have your data entered in your spreadsheet, save it as a CSV file.

Next, login to your portfolio and  click the New menu and choose Import Transactions.  Then from the Import page, upload your CSV file from your computer.  The transactions that will be imported will then be displayed.  If everything is correct, continue the import process.

If you have any questions with how to do an import, feel free to contact our support desk by clicking the Help link from our home page.

Getting Started with EquityStat Portfolio Manager

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Quick Start Guide

Here is a quick getting started guide for using EquityStat’s portfolio manager.

EquityStat Stock Portfolio Directions
Add transactions to EquityStat

After you join EquityStat, you will be logged into your account.  Since you have no investments in your portfolio, you will see the page above.  From this page you can click the New Investment button to add a new investment to your portfolio.

After clicking the New Investment button, you will be presented a dialog where you can enter a buy transaction for your investment.  Using the dialog, enter the symbol of your investment, the date the purchase took place, the amount of shares purchased and the price for each share.  When finished click the Save button.  Once you have entered your first purchase, you can then enter other transactions such as other buys, sells and dividends.

Getting Start With EquityStat Portfolio Tracker
Directions on EquityStat’s Portfolio Manager

The image above shows a portfolio with several investments already entered.  The top table will show all of your investments along with data about the investments.  Below the investment table are the transactions for the selected investment.  You can sort your investments and transactions by clicking on a column heading.  In addition you can expand a column by putting your mouse between columns and then drag to lengthen the width of the column.  Above the investment table is a summary of the portfolio which will show you the total portfolio value, the total dollar return, the gain/loss for the day and the year-to-date return.

Add Transactions to EquityStat's Investment Portfolio
How to add transactions to EquityStat

If you want to enter a new investment that is not in your portfolio, click the New menu and then choose the New Investment menuitem.  If you want to add transactions to an existing investment, go to the transaction table below the investment table and click the Add button.  A new row will then be added to the transaction table where you can add a new buy, sell, dividend transaction as well as many other transaction types.  You can also edit an individual transaction by selecting the transaction and clicking the Edit button.  If you want to remove a transaction, click the Delete button.

Hide Sold Investments in EquityStat's Stock Portfolio Tracker
How to hide sold investments in your portfolio

If you have investments in our portfolio that have been sold and you don’t want them to show, click the three line graphic at the left and choose Hide Sold Investments menuitem.  This will hide any sold investments.  To view your sold investments click the graphic again and choose View Sold Investments.

Cost Basis

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What is Cost Basis?

Investopedia defines cost basis as:

The original value of an asset for tax purposes (usually the purchase price), adjusted for stock splits, dividends and return of capital distributions. This value is used to determine the capital gain, which is equal to the difference between the asset’s cost basis and the current market value. Also known as “tax basis”.

Why is it important?

The IRS is requiring more and more reporting of your cost basis of your investment.  They also require your report the capital gains/losses of your investments. To calculate your capital gains you need to know your cost basis.

How do you calculate it?

On the surface calculating cost basis sounds easy. Just use the price you paid for your stock. For example, if you purchased a 100 shares of XYZ company for $120 then your cost basis is $120. However, things get complicated if you had 3 for 2 stock split. Also, what if you purchase an additional 50 shares for $90? What if you have a split, reinvest capital gains and purchases in a given year? What is your cost basis? Now things get really complicated.

How EquityStat makes things easier

With EquityStat all you have to do is enter your purchases, splits, capital gains and we will calculate your cost basis. Then when you sell your stock whether all of your shares or just some of your shares, we can easily calculate your gain or loss. You can then generate IRS Form 8949 that will show your cost for each investment you sold in the last year.

Why Mutual Fund Investors Need a Portfolio Manager

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If you own mutual funds why do you need a portfolio manager?  Why can’t you just use the tools your mutual fund provides?

Transaction History

Many mutual funds do not provide all of your transaction history.  They may provide up to 3 years of history but if you have owned your mutual fund longer than this, you do not have access to every transaction you have made.

Why is transaction history important?  One, you need a complete transaction history for tax purposes if you sell shares in your mutual fund.  Whenever you sell shares in a mutual fund you need to report to the IRS you gain or loss from to the sale.  Without a complete transaction history you cannot accurately report the gain or loss, which may effect your taxes.

You also want a complete transaction history so that you can track your mutual fund’s performance over the history of the investment, not just over a limited time.

Performance Evaluation

Many mutual funds will provide you the yearly return of the mutual fund but this may not be the return your investment has made.  For example, say you own the hypothetical mutual fund XRXRXR.  Let’s say XRXRXR price on January 1 is $100 a share and on December 31 it is $110 a share.  The mutual fund will report their yearly gain as 10%.  However, this does not take into account when you bought your shares.  Let’s say that on July 1 you buy shares at $90 a share.  Based on a closing price of $110/share, your gain is 22% and not 10%.  Or, let’s say you bought your shares at $120 a share.  Based on a closing price of $110/share, your loss is 8% and not a 10% gain.  If you rely on your mutual fund’s performance return it could be less or more than what you are actually earning.

EquityStat

With EquityStat you can view the complete history of your transactions.  In addition EquityStat gives you the ability to generate IRS form 8949 which will calculate any gains or losses on the sale of your mutual fund shares.

EquityStat will also calculate the annualized return on all of your investments.  This calculation is based on when you purchased and sold your shares, not what the mutual fund reports their return is.

EquityStat – Who, What and Why?

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Who is EquityStat?

EquityStat is a powerful yet easy to use investment portfolio application. It was developed by investors for investors. The old adage “necessity is the mother of invention” was the driving force behind the founding of EquityStat. We found that the existing tools necessary to track, manage and financially evaluate investments were inadequate.

Why EquityStat?

EquityStat wanted a way to track and manage all of our investments in one application from the cloud. As many investors know, your investments are scattered about many brokerages, mutual funds and retirement plans. Our goal was to create an application where investors could manage all of their investments in a single location. In addition we wanted to be able to access investments from any computer or device. Whether at home, work or at the accountant’s office, we wanted to be able to access our investment portfolio.

What is EquityStat?

  • Manage all of your Financial InvestmentsHandles all of your stock, bond, ETF and mutual fund investments from all of your brokerages
  • Track the Performance of your InvestmentsAnalyze your individual investments and your overall portfolio
  • Generate Tax ReportsSupports IRS tax reporting requirements
  • View your Investment Portfolio on all of your DevicesWeb based portfolio management tool that you can view on any computer or tablet