For my spreadsheet, I’m trying to figure out the formula to calculate what the share price was for a position using just the price paid in my home currency £GBP and the number of shares.
Example, I bought 0.24390069 shares at $279.54. However when I do this:
£49.91 (Price paid in GBP) x $1.3659 (FX rate at the time of purchase) = $68.172069 (price paid in $USD)
But…
$68.172069 / 0.24390069 = $279.51 (rounded up).
Why isn’t it £279.54? I used FX rate, and not the Base FX rate, which I think is correct?
If I do the calculation in reverse, I do get nearer (£49.92).
You need more decimal points. You’re working from a rounded $49.91 which should be closer to 49.9158. I guess behind the scenes, FT use the more accurate number but only display the rounded amount to 2 decimal places which is pretty normal.
How did you get on with building the spreadsheet to calculate this? I was thinking of doing the same, but still can’t get my head around working out the calculations. I have lost on a few trades because I thought the small profit would cover the fees, then to be shocked to see I was down on the trade after cashing in.
A simple calculator would help me to work out what price I need the share to be to, break even then to begin profits.