• What feature do you want to see in Sharesight?
Cost base/share on the Overview page as a column next to Price.
• Why do you want it?
Easy access to cost base.
• How is this affecting you?
Currently I have to open each holding and then go to “Holding Information” before I can see cost base. Its too cumbersome.
• Can we reach out in future to ask follow up questions about this idea?
Yes
Agree. Please add a Cost Basis column to the Overview Page. This is essential for Cap Gain tracking and most brokers provide this info on their web sites and in brokerage statements. For many securities I see differences in Cap Gain between Sharesight and my broker’s statement. Most of these differences result from different cost basis figures in Sharesight and as reported by my broker. This is especially true if securities were transferred “in kind” between brokerage accounts. I spend far too much time trying to figure out cost basis in these kind of transactions. I also don’t see cost basis figures in Sharesight for closed positions under the Holdings Summary tab.
Thank you for the feedback. Currently we don’t have any plan to add cost base per share (or cost base) to the overview page. However, we do review this request on an ongoing basis.
The main reason we are cautious about adding cost base information to the overview page is the confusion it might create. Currently, we use AVERAGE method for performance calculation and FIFO method (default) for tax calculation. Both methods create different cost base when a holding has multiple buy trades and partial sell trades. So the question is do we use the AVERAGE method which is relevant to capital gains information shown in Overview,
Holding page, Performance Report, Sold Securities Report etc or do we use FIFO method (or the method specified in the CGT Report) because that is more relevant?
The answer is simple: Use average cost base on the overview page and FIFO for tax related reports. I don’t see what’s confusing here.
As it is, as a US investor I don’t get the CGT report and don’t see the cost basis either. Not sure why you can’t do FIFO cost basis for US tax report if you can do Canada, for example. Having this feature might actually help to increase your US subscriber base.
And, again, not being able to see cost base for closed holdings is a major flaw in my view.
As I am getting more deeply into Sharesight, I find many features attractive and useful. However, the lack of visibility of cost base and apparent inability to adjust cost base up or down for historical sell transactions - so cap gains or losses align with my broker’s statement - makes Sharesight almost unusable. Especially if one has a lot of historical transactions and wants to compare returns with brokers statements. Perhaps there is a way to adjust cost base and I just haven’t found it. Hope that is the case. I would love to continue to use Sharesight but this is a real killer defect for me.
It would also be great if cost basis could be presented in the currency the share was purchased. Currently, if I buy a US or Australian share for $1 each, the cost basis displays as NZ$1.32 (my local currency). That makes it meaningless when I try to compare it to its current value. Even if I take the number and convert it using Google, fluctuating FX over time means I still can’t really see what my cost basis is in any meaningful way unless I use an advanced FX calculator to see what $1.32 was, on average, at the time of the purchase. The more purchases you make the muddier the waters get.
Fourth post ive seen asking for this feature!
Revisiting this request two years later. Any appetite for cost basis on the front page?