Glossary

On this page

1. Average cost vs cost per share after dividends
2. Break-even
3. Unrealized P&L vs net unrealized
4. Realised P&L
5. First in, first out (FIFO)
6. Compensation
7. Total return vs annualized return
8. Fee rules (Taiwan stocks)

These terms appear often on screen and are worth two minutes.

Average cost vs cost per share after dividends

	Meaning
Average cost	Total purchase amount (fees included) ÷ total shares
Cost per share after dividends	The above less the cash dividends already received
Adjusted cost net of lending	Cost per share after dividends also less the income from lending the shares (stock detail: switch the "Average cost" card to "Net of lending"; the switch appears only with lending income)

Dividends received in effect lower your holding cost, and this figure reflects that. Lending income does too, but brokers' statements do not deduct it from cost, so "Adjusted cost net of lending" is just an extra figure for reference: average cost and realized P&L stay the same.

Break-even

Sell at this price and, after fees and transaction tax, you exactly get your money back.

It is slightly above average cost, because selling also costs money. The number on screen changes colour with the current price: a current price above break-even is a gain (red), below is a loss (green).

Break-even incl. dividends (Stock detail, shown only once you have received cash dividends): treat the cash dividends received as cost already recovered, and it is the price at which selling (total cost − cash dividends received) gets your money back after fees and transaction tax. The dividends deducted are the same as for "cost per share after dividends", and fees and tax are worked out as for break-even, so it is lower than break-even. When the dividends received already exceed the cost it shows 0 (any price gets your money back).

Unrealized P&L vs net unrealized

	Meaning
Unrealized P&L	Market value − cost. The number on paper
Net unrealized	After also deducting "the fees and transaction tax you would pay if you sold now"

Net unrealized is what you could really get. The two usually differ by about 0.4%.

Realised P&L

How much the part already sold really gained or lost, matched by first in, first out.

First in, first out (FIFO)

When you sell stock, the system assumes you sold the earliest-bought lot.

For example if you first bought 1,000 shares at 580, then 1,000 at 610, and then sold 1,000 at 650, the system treats it as the 580 lot being sold, leaving the 610 lot.

Compensation

When shares on loan go ex-dividend, what you receive is not a dividend but compensation paid by the borrower.

It is calculated like a dividend, but for tax it is other income, not dividend income, with no tax credit. So tick it when recording, and statistics by year list it apart from cash dividends.

Total return vs annualized return

	Meaning
Total return	How much you made in total ÷ how much you put in in total. Regardless of how many years it took
Annualized return	Converted to "what you made on average per year in %", taking into account how long each amount was invested

Making 60% over 3 years is a total return of 60% and an annualized return of about 17%. When you build a position in stages, annualized return reflects real performance better.

All returns in this program are numbers after deducting the cost of selling, so they are slightly lower than a broker's statement (about 0.44% for Taiwan stocks) but closer to what actually lands in your pocket.

Fee rules (Taiwan stocks)

Item	Rate
Broker fee	0.1425%, can be discounted
Minimum fee (round lots, 1,000 shares or more)	20
Minimum fee (odd lots, under 1,000 shares)	1
Transaction tax on sales (ordinary stocks)	0.3%
Transaction tax on sales (ETFs)	0.1%
Transaction tax on sales (TDRs, Taiwan depositary receipts, codes starting with 91 such as 9105, 910861)	0.1% (no further day-trade halving)

Buying carries no transaction tax.

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