Cost basis for reinvested dividends - Merrill Edge

brownmandad
brownmandad Member ✭✭
edited November 2021 in Investing (Windows)
Quicken shows the cost basis for reinvested dividends as 0. I double-checked with Merrill Edge from where these transactions are downloaded and it seems to track the cost basis correctly.

Best Answer

  • Jim_Harman
    Jim_Harman SuperUser ✭✭✭✭✭
    Answer ✓
    @Sherlock, it appears that Merrill is still sending the transactions described in the discussion I linked above:
    Div
    Withdraw of the dividend amount
    Added for the reinvested shares, with a cost of zero.

    The linked discussion describes a couple of work-arounds.

    It is certainly a bummer that Merrill has not fixed this. It is probably an artifact of their systems transferring the dividend to a DRIP account and buying the shares there.

    The earliest reference to this problem I found dates to 2015.
    QWin Premier subscription

Answers

  • Sherlock
    Sherlock Member ✭✭✭✭
    I suggest you correct the transactions used to record the reinvested dividends in the account register.
  • brownmandad
    brownmandad Member ✭✭
    Thanks. I did not do anything except downloading the transactions from Merrill Edge to Quicken.
    I notice now that Quicken just adds the new shares, so the cost is zero. How do I correct this? This must have gone on for ages.
  • Jim_Harman
    Jim_Harman SuperUser ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November 2021
    Does this discussion describe the situation you are seeing?
    https://community.quicken.com/discussion/comment/20115898#Comment_20115898

    If so, this has apparently been a problem for a long time, with no resolution from Merrill. You can work around it by following one of the approaches described in the linked discussion.

    If you are seeing something different, please describe what transactions are downloaded instead of the ReinvDiv with the correct dividend amount and share quantity.

    I edited your title to show tht this is Merrill Edge related.
    QWin Premier subscription
  • Sherlock
    Sherlock Member ✭✭✭✭
    Thanks. I did not do anything except downloading the transactions from Merrill Edge to Quicken.
    I notice now that Quicken just adds the new shares, so the cost is zero. How do I correct this? This must have gone on for ages.
    The instructions depend on the current transactions and how you prefer to track performance. 

    It sounds like you may have been accepting placeholders for the reinvested dividends.  If so, you may want to review: Quicken FAQ: Managing Placeholder Entries in Quicken for Windows

    Reinvested dividends may be entered as distinct Div and Bought action transactions or an ReinvDiv action transaction however Quicken measures the investment performance differently depending on which approach is used: https://help.quicken.com/display/WIN/Tell+me+about+key+investment+performance+calculations+used+in+Quicken   If you're importing transactions, we usually suggest using the approach provided by the financial institution.
  • Jim_Harman
    Jim_Harman SuperUser ✭✭✭✭✭
    Answer ✓
    @Sherlock, it appears that Merrill is still sending the transactions described in the discussion I linked above:
    Div
    Withdraw of the dividend amount
    Added for the reinvested shares, with a cost of zero.

    The linked discussion describes a couple of work-arounds.

    It is certainly a bummer that Merrill has not fixed this. It is probably an artifact of their systems transferring the dividend to a DRIP account and buying the shares there.

    The earliest reference to this problem I found dates to 2015.
    QWin Premier subscription
  • Sherlock
    Sherlock Member ✭✭✭✭
    @Sherlock, it appears that Merrill is still sending the transactions described in the discussion I linked above:
    Div
    Withdraw of the dividend amount
    Added for the reinvested shares, with a cost of zero.

    The linked discussion describes a couple of work-arounds.

    It is certainly a bummer that Merrill has not fixed this. It is probably an artifact of their systems transferring the dividend to a DRIP account and buying the shares there.

    The earliest reference to this problem I found dates to 2015.
    I agree.  Since we don't use Merill, I cannot confirm whether or not they've addressed their issue.
  • brownmandad
    brownmandad Member ✭✭
    Thanks to everyone. I followed the approach suggested by Jim and have started correcting the Merrill register. Looks fine. Fortunately, my Merrill account is only 5 years old.
This discussion has been closed.