Journaling shares between listings
Moving shares from one listing to another (DLR to DLR.U, TSX to NYSE, TSX to US OTC) without selling them, and how the app keeps their cost.
Looking for writing notes about a trade? That's the Journal; see Journal a trade. This page is about moving shares.
Many companies trade in more than one place: a Canadian company can be listed on the TSX in Canadian dollars and on the NYSE in US dollars. Some funds also have two listings on the same exchange, one per currency. Asking your broker to move shares from one listing to the other, without selling them, is called journaling the shares. It isn't a sale: you keep the same shares, and no gain or loss happens.
What the app supports
Any two listings of the same company, in either direction:
| Kind | Examples |
|---|---|
| Same exchange, two currencies | DLR ↔ DLR.U on the TSX |
| TSX ↔ NYSE | TD, BNS, ENB, FTS; T on the TSX → TU on the NYSE |
| TSX → US over-the-counter (OTC) | CJ → CRLFF, PEY → PEYUF, WCP → WCPRF |
The app knows two listings are the same company when they share an ISIN or FIGI, the identifiers market data gives every security. You don't set anything up.
What the app does with a journal
Brokers report a journal in one of two ways, and the app handles both:
- As a journal. The broker's file has the two halves (shares leaving one listing, shares arriving on the other). The import pairs them into one journal.
- As a transfer out and a transfer in on the same day. Some registered accounts report it this way. The app pairs them when both rows are on the same day, have the same quantity and opposite currencies, and there is exactly one candidate on each side.
Either way:
- The shares leave the old listing. A
Journal Outrow closes them there, first in, first out. - They arrive on the new listing at the same cost. A
Journal Inrow opens them at what you paid for the shares that left, in the new listing's currency. - Your result shows when you finally sell, measured against what you originally paid.
What you see
- One row for the whole position. On the Trade Log, the position is one row from the first buy on the old listing to the final sale on the new one.
- One row for the move. Inside the position the two halves show as one row, such as "Journal DLR → DLR.U".
- Tags. The trades carry the
JOURNALtag. In the Trade Log's Actions filter, Journal means these share moves, not journal entries.
When a journal can't be followed
- The shares' cost isn't known. For example
DLRjournaled toDLR.Uwhen theDLRpurchase isn't in any file you imported. The journal is still recorded, as aJournal Out/Journal Inpair, but at an unknown cost: the shares on the new listing are markedUNKNOWN_ACBand listed under Show Issues. If even one of the lots the journal takes has an unknown cost (shares from an unpaired transfer, say), the whole journal is unknown; the app never blends a known and an unknown cost. Importing the missing purchase, or the account the shares came from, prices the journal on the next recalculation. See Data issues. - Only one half is in the file. The import skips it as
UNPAIRED_JOURNAL; see Imports.
Norbert's Gambit
Buying DLR, journaling it to DLR.U and selling it is a cheap way to convert Canadian dollars to
US dollars (or back). The app recognizes the round trip and shows what you saved on the exchange
rate; see Norbert's Gambit.
Related
- Transfers between accounts: shares moved between accounts or brokers.
- Tax rules: a journal is not a sale, and the two listings share one cost pool.
- Currencies: USD and CAD values and exchange rates.