IB: unrealized Profit/Loss not using the right bid-ask

R

rselitetrader

IB TWS users: have you noticed that if you buy to open, you buy at the ASK price; but when you check your account, the unrealized profit or loss is not calculated using the corresponding BID price. Instead of the BID, the ASK is used.

I think this is misleading. There was one time the account showed unrealized profit of about $400, and I decided to close the trade; and to my dismay, I ended up with a realized loss of about $200.

Any comments?
 
Thats not an IB specific issue.

Most Retail Brokers calculate your unrealized P&L based on your purch price against the LAST quoted price.

IB is kind enough to toss in the commission cost.

However, realize for the purpose of calculating margin and account value.... well you get the idea. It's early on a day off. LOL.
 
For options, IB uses the midpoint between the bid and the ask. Schwab seems to use the bid pre-market and during the day, but at market close it uses the price of the last trade (which means it often shows me red all day until after the market closes. I turn off the display of that number... helps me psychologically :)).

I do have a feature request. IB shows your average cost basis. This is the right thing to do for the majority of its customers, I'm sure, but for those of us who scale into and out of trades and hold overnight, it would be nice if we could manually adjust the cost basis.
 
From the latest IB Communique:

"Adjust Average Cost for any position, not just cash positions. "


Quote from loufah:

I do have a feature request. IB shows your average cost basis. This is the right thing to do for the majority of its customers, I'm sure, but for those of us who scale into and out of trades and hold overnight, it would be nice if we could manually adjust the cost basis.
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