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Core Concepts

Core Concepts

How Wealthfolio models every cash and asset movement in your portfolio.

Activities are the atomic events that drive portfolio state in Wealthfolio—every trade, cash movement, fee, or corporate action is recorded as an activity. Accurate performance, cash-flow, and tax reporting all start with choosing the right activity type.

1 · Activity Reference

TypeTypical Use CaseCash ImpactHoldings Impact
BUYPurchase of a security or other asset.↓ cash↑ quantity
SELLDisposal of a security or other asset.↑ cash↓ quantity
DIVIDENDCash dividend paid into the account.↑ cash—
INTERESTInterest earned on cash or fixed-income positions.↑ cash—
DEPOSITIncoming funds from outside Wealthfolio.↑ cash—
WITHDRAWALOutgoing funds to an external account.↓ cash—
ADD_HOLDINGBring in a position without recording a trade (opening balance, gift received, option assignment).Fee only↑ quantity
REMOVE_HOLDINGWrite-off, gift, or expire a position without recording a sale.Fee only↓ quantity
TRANSFER_INMove cash or assets into this account from another Wealthfolio account (cost basis preserved on assets).↑ cash or ↑ quantity↑ quantity (for assets)
TRANSFER_OUTMove cash or assets out of this account (cost basis exported on assets).↓ cash or ↓ quantity↓ quantity (for assets)
FEEStand-alone brokerage or platform fee not tied to a trade.↓ cash—
TAXTax paid from the account (e.g., dividend withholding, realised CGT).↓ cash—
SPLITStock split or reverse split. Adjusts units and per-share cost so total cost remains constant.—qty & unit cost adjusted
ℹ

Tip: Every cash leg automatically books to the synthetic symbol
$CASH-<CCY> (e.g. $CASH-USD). Balances are therefore visible alongside securities.

2 · Quick-Start Cheat-Sheet

ScenarioRecommended ActivitiesWhy
Initial snapshotADD_HOLDING, DEPOSITFast way to seed starting positions and cash
Routine tradingBUY, SELL (plus DIVIDEND, INTEREST)Full P/L and cash reconciliation
Inter-account movesTRANSFER_IN, TRANSFER_OUTRetains cost basis; avoids phantom gains/losses
One-off chargesFEE, TAXKeeps expense reporting explicit
Gifts / write-offsADD_HOLDING, REMOVE_HOLDINGSidesteps cash when no sale proceeds exist
Corporate actionSPLITNormalises quantity/cost without affecting value

3 · Workflow Styles

Simple (Holdings-Only)

  • Use ADD_HOLDING / REMOVE_HOLDING to line-up positions.
  • Adjust cash once with DEPOSIT / WITHDRAWAL.
  • Good for: Quick onboarding, backfilling missing history or when only tracking portfolio value.

Full (Transaction-Level)

  1. Seed account with a DEPOSIT.
  2. Record every BUY, SELL, DIVIDEND, INTEREST.
  3. Mirror transfers with TRANSFER_IN / TRANSFER_OUT.
  4. Log ad-hoc expenses via FEE and TAX.
  • Good for: Precise IRR, cash-flow, and tax analytics.

You can freely mix the two—e.g., back-fill long-held shares with ADD_HOLDING, then switch to BUY/SELL going forward.

4 · Audit Rules

  • Activities must net-balance: negative cash requires prior deposits or sales.
  • Quantities may be fractional; eight-decimal precision is accepted.
  • Time-travel safety: activities can be inserted retroactively—Wealthfolio recalculates balances on-the-fly.

Next step: Import or create activities manually or via CSV uploader, then view the timeline in the Activities tab to verify that cash and positions reconcile as expected.

5 · Edge-Cases & Gotchas

TopicWhat to KnowWhy It Matters
Trade vs. Fee BundlingBUY/SELL rows can include an inline fee or you can log a separate FEE. Never do both for the same trade.Avoids double-counting expenses.
Lot SelectionFIFO is the default.Realised P/L and taxable gains depend on the lot picked.
Multi-Currency FlowFX conversion is done on trade-dateKeeps cross-currency ROI and cash matching your broker statement.
Bulk Import TipsCSV must be UTF-8, ISO-8601 dates (2025-03-15), decimals with . separator, and headers exactly as in the sample file.Eliminates “column not found” errors on upload.
Manifesto Performance Metrics