[Kmymoney-devel] Re: Problem with investment transaction

[Jack]

On 2011.07.12 15:54, aga wrote:
> On Tue, 12 Jul 2011 12:53:22 -0400
> Jack <ostroffjh at sbcglobal.net> wrote:
>> This is indirectly related to the recent discussion about which  
>> widgets appear when editing an investment transaction, especially if  
>> changing the transaction type.  However, I have a problem in that I  
>> can't figure out how to create a particular transaction.  In theory,  
>> this should be a dividend reinvestment.  My problem is that Merrill  
>> Lynch only records whole shares, and if a dividend reinvestment is  
>> not for the exact amount, they indicate the partial shares  
>> purchased, but they are not actually purchased at that time.  When  
>> your partial shares exceed a whole share, they then just do a  
>> journal entry, which I can then record as an "add shares."
> I think I saw this process in the CSV file you sent me a while back.
Yes, but the problem I was pointing out back then was that Merrill  
Lynch actually sends three transactions for a single dividend  
reinvestment.  One for the dividend, one for the purchase, and a third  
that sort of ties them together.

>> So - most of the time I add an amount to a category "partial share  
>> purchase" to account for that difference, and only include the whole  
>> shares purchased by the dividend.  My problem is that today I have a  
>> reinvestment that ONLY has a partial share.  "Reinvest dividends"  
>> will not allow 0 shares to be purchased,
> That seems logical, not to accept the purchase of zero shares...

>> and "Dividends" does not allow for a "fee" which is where I record  
>> the difference.
> I'm not clear on what this 'fee' represents, as I thought it was a  
> partial share you had received.  However, there is not, so far as I  
> am aware, a reason for a Dividend transaction not to incur a fee, if  
> that helps.  I think it's just a question of keeping the UI  
> relevant.  If there is a need, then a fee field could be added.
The notes of the transaction from ML actually indicate the exact number  
of shares (whole plus partial) purchased, but the "number of shares"  
field is the whole number only.  They track the partial shares  
separately, and when it crosses a whole share, they do an explicit "Add  
shares."  The "fee" is my own invention to the total amount of the  
dividend it correct, instead of just the price per share times the  
whole number of shares.  It is not really a fee.

I suppose what I really need to do is just let the reinvest buy the  
exact number of shares (including partial) and just pay a bit more  
attention when I reconcile how many shares I own.  (ML sometimes shows  
just whole numbers and sometimes includes partial shares - I just  
haven't figured out exactly when they show which.

> > I know
>> that I don't really need to record this in a transaction since there  
>> is no increase in shares (I do not track the partial shares in KMM)  
>> and no real dividend amount to transfer to the brokerage account,  
>> but to be fully compulsive, I'd like to record it somehow.
> If, as it seems, it's a partial share you want to 'remember', then  
> could not Add be used here, although that goes against you current  
> 'no partial share' recording.  Presumably, at a later date it will  
> become a full share and the partial one can be deleted/updated.
If I were going to use Add, I would just purchase the exact number of  
shares (whole plus partial) in the first place.  It seems that's going  
to be the path of least resistance.  It just means that I have to  
remember to NOT record the journal entries as Add for the single shares  
when the partials accumulate.

Thanks for the suggestions.