Transaction imports from TD Ameritrade

[Mark]

Hi Gary T.,

Thanks for emailing the log file. On the money market interest transaction, TD is reporting it as a type of "DIV", so that is why FM imports that as a dividend instead of interest income. TD can report this as "INTEREST", but for some reason is not. You can see this in a log file on the line in the transaction that shows as:

- INCOMETYPE (DIV)

I realize the memo shows it as interest, but Fund Manager doesn't set the transaction type off the memo, there is an OFX field with pre-defined values meant to be used for that. The memo field is just free form text.

The management fee transaction is similar. It is being reported as a general debit, where they could be more specified and call it a fee. This is from the log file for these management fee transactions:

- TRNTYPE (DEBIT)

Again, the memo field describes it as a management fee, but Fund Manager doesn't determine the transaction type from the memo field, it uses the TRNTYPE in this case. The TRNTYPE field has a variety of available pre-defined values, including DEBIT, which is a general purpose debit. They could also have chosen FEE or SRVCHG which would be more accurate in this case.

The bottom line is that FM is importing these correctly, given the fields provided by TD. We don't plan on adjusting the transaction type based off the memo text, that isn't a reliable approach, and would vary greatly by broker. The whole purpose of OFX is to have a standard way of communication such transactions. I would suggest providing feedback to TD that you'd like this improved, so that their OFX download is more precise.

[Gary T.]

Mark,
Thanks, I will see what I can do with TD. I guess none of your other users see this as a problem?
Thanks again,
Gary T.

[Mark]

Hi Gary T.,

I suspect most other users just allow the dividend to record as a dividend in this case. The effects on your performance are identical, it is just a matter of classification. I haven't noticed the management fee issue before. Why are you paying a management fee to TD?

[Gary T.]

Mark,
I am paying an advisor. And it has been my understanding that recording the "Management Fee" as a redemption affects performance, is this, not correct. If not then I don't understand why an account fee would be posted as a negative distribution. Also I prefer a distinction between Dividend Income and Interest Income so I can reconcile with my 1099 forms.
Thanks as always,
Gary T.

[Mark]

Hi Gary T.,

Yes, there is a performance difference between recording the fee as a redemption and an account fee. The account fee will hurt the performance, which is probably what you want.