Investments

The Investments tab in Manager enables you to record, monitor, and manage all your financial investments. This dedicated area provides a detailed view of your investment portfolio and its performance over time.

Creating a New Investment

To create a new investment:

1. Navigate to the Investments tab.
2. Click the New Investment button.

If you have investments with existing quantities, you can set their starting balances:

1. Go to Settings.
2. Select Starting Balances.
3. Refer to the Starting Balances—Investments guide for detailed instructions.

Impact on the Chart of Accounts

When you have one or more investments created, Manager automatically introduces two essential accounts to your Chart of Accounts:

• Investments: Appears on your Balance Sheet and records the value of your investments.
• Investment Gains (Losses): Added to your Profit and Loss Statement, capturing the gains or losses on investments.

The Investments account represents the market value of your investments based on the market prices entered under Investment Market Prices. See the Investment Market Prices guide for more information. The difference between the market value and the cost price of your investments is posted to the Investment Gains (Losses) account.

Note: The Investment Gains (Losses) account combines both realized and unrealized gains. To view your realized and unrealized gains separately, go to the Realized Investment Gains (Losses) report under the Reports tab.

Purchasing an Investment

To purchase an investment:

1. Go to the Payments tab.
2. Click the New Payment button to record a new payment.
3. In the New Payment form:
   • Select the Investments account.
   • Choose the investment you have purchased.

Tip: If the Qty (Quantity) column is not visible, ensure the Qty checkbox is checked. This allows you to enter the purchased quantity of the investment.

Selling an Investment

To sell an investment, follow the same process as purchasing:

1. Record a transaction categorized to the Investments account.
2. Select the investment sold.
3. Enter the amount received and the quantity sold.

Understanding the Investments Tab Columns

The Investments tab features the following columns:

Code

Displays the investment code.

Name

Shows the name of the investment.

Control Account

Indicates the name of the control account to which the investment belongs. If you are not using a custom control account, this column will display Investments.

Qty

Displays the number of units you own for each investment.

Market Price

Reflects the current market price per unit of the investment. See the Investment Market Prices guide for more information.

Market Value

Calculated by multiplying the market price by the quantity, representing the current worth of your investments in the market.

Investments and Foreign Currencies

Many investments are traded on foreign currency markets. In Manager, all investments, regardless of the market they are traded on, are denominated in your base currency. An investment is not a foreign currency.

Investments can be traded on markets denominated in foreign currencies. However, they may also be traded on multiple markets across different currencies simultaneously (e.g., dual-listed companies, futures contracts, commodities, precious metals). When a foreign currency weakens, the price of the investment typically rises to compensate for the forex loss, maintaining equilibrium. The value of an investment could rise in foreign currency terms but remain flat relative to your base currency.

This is why the performance of investments is always tracked in your base currency within Manager.