Cost basis vs. market value

Understand the tracking labels

Average cost per share is the cost you enter for the shares being tracked. The position's cost basis uses those shares and that average cost. Its market value uses the shares and the available market price. Unrealized gain or loss compares the two while the position remains held.

Investor.gov's brokerage-statement guide explains why holdings, prices and cost information need review. Match the quote date and currency when comparing the app with a brokerage statement; delayed or missing prices affect what you can conclude.

ScalarQuant is a tracker based on your inputs and available data. Its average-cost position entry does not reproduce every tax-lot adjustment, transaction fee or broker record.

Work through a simple position

The recorded cost is 10 × 40 = $400. Current value is 10 × 50 = $500. The difference is $100, and 100 ÷ 400 × 100 = 25%. You have not sold the position in this example, so the gain is unrealized.

If the quote later falls to $35, market value becomes $350 and the unrealized loss $50, or 12.5% of recorded cost. A missing price would make current value unavailable; it would not make the shares worthless.

Separate holdings, cash and returns

Suppose the same fictional account also holds $200 cash. Its current holdings plus cash total $700. The cash is part of account value, but it is not a stock gain. Adding money to the account can increase that total without any investment performance.

ScalarQuant tracks current cash separately. Its historical holdings chart excludes cash and is not a complete account ledger. Do not infer cash-inclusive account returns, realized gains or dividend-inclusive total return from that chart.

A sale price, fees, distributions and the history of contributions or withdrawals answer different performance questions. Tracking an unrealized change from average cost does not establish a time-weighted return or a return over a specific number of months.

Enter and review the actual position

In Portfolio, choose Add position, select the company and enter Shares, Average cost per share and the purchase date. Use your own records. Enter submits a single-line field; wait for the saved state or resolve any error before assuming the change succeeded.

For an existing position, use its edit action to correct inputs. A sale and deleting an incorrect entry mean different things; do not record one as the other. Check current cash after recording a sale.

Tax basis can depend on lots and adjustments beyond a simple average. The IRS stock-basis FAQ discusses identifying shares acquired at different prices. Use broker and tax records for that purpose. Next, review how much of the tracked account each position represents.