Month to date etc graph with overlay not both starting at100

[davephx]

On Graph - Price + Distribution Overlay (I overlay the S&P500 over individual mutual funds)

Using Date range of Month to date, or quarter to date the starting points are different (not both graphs at 100 showing percentage gains from starting point).

But with year-to-date and most other options they do both start at 100%

But if I force the beginning date to be 8/31/10 the graphs for both start at 100%... and I think show the same gain in the end.

It would seem that month to date would be more useful if started at the close of the last trading day of the prior month with comparisons (with overlay) both starting at zero?

[Mark]

Hi davephx,

These overlay graphs will not always start at 100. The reason is that they are inclusive of changes that happen on the starting graph date. You can think of it as the percentage is relative to the price on the morning of the graph's starting date, which is the same as the close of the prior date.

For example, if you start the graph on Sep 1, the plotted percentage on Sept 1 is relative to the close on Aug 31.