This graph overlays the investment value with the out of pocket investment. This out of pocket investment can plot either the cost of the currently owned shares, or the historical cost of the investment. The menu command Graphs / Options / Historical Cost controls which type of cost is plotted. This graph allows you to see graphically the current value with the break even point.
The historical out of pocket investment is calculated by adding all purchases, subtracting all redemptions, and subtracting all received distributions. The purchases only include out of pocket purchases, not reinvested distributions. The received distributions only include distributions paid to you, not reinvested distributions. This calculation shows the break even point on your invested dollars for the full history of this investment. The historical out of pocket investment is calculated with the formula:
out_of_pocket_investment = purchases - redemptions - received_distributions
The current out of pocket investment is calculated by adding up the cost to purchase all the currently owned shares, and subtracting off any received distributions from the currently owned shares. The first in first out method is used for determining this cost. The purchases only include out of pocket purchases, not reinvested distributions. The received distributions only include distributions paid to you, not reinvested distributions. This calculation shows the break even point on your invested dollars for the remaining balance of shares currently held. The current out of pocket investment is calculated with the formula:
out_of_pocket_investment = latest_purchases - received_distributions
An example will help clarify this historical/current cost option. Suppose you started a new investment by buying 100 shares at $10/share for $1,000. After this transaction your out of pocket cost is $1,000 in either cost mode. If you then sold 50 of these shares at $11/share for $550, your cost in the historical mode would be $450, and your cost in the currently owned shares mode would be $500.
The vertical axis is value and cost. The horizontal axis displays the date. If auto-scaling is on the vertical axis automatically scales to cover from the minimum to the maximum achieved during the displayed period. The top vertical axis label will specify the maximum, and the bottom vertical axis label will specify the minimum achieved during the displayed period.
The graph will be labeled with CST-VAL-H or CST-VAL-C to stand for Cost - Value in either historical (-H) or current (-C) cost mode. The ending value displayed on the legend will be labeled with the current currency symbol of the investment. The ending out of pocket investment will be labeled with C: (Cost). The change in these values from the previous day is also displayed in parenthesis.
If the yields are turned on (View / Yields) they will be displayed above the graphs. See Yield Calculations for information on the reported yields.
Comments: The out of pocket investment only changes after a purchase, redemption, or received distribution. The out of pocket investment may actually go negative in the historical cost mode if you have redemptions plus received distributions totaling more than the sum of all purchases.