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Expired Index Options are reported as "Cover Short Sell" instead of "Sell - Shares Sold"

dfatq

Hello,

For years you never matched the index options (lets just talk OEX or NDX) so I'd have to click the option to say it's not a match but a new one and next. You guys fixed that a few months back. But one thing is a hassle, and more a hassle now that I use spreads with the high prices, in that when an option expires (say it's a Buy To Open normal option) it records it as a "CvrShrtX". I have to manually go in to each one and change to "SoldX" to get the balance to 0. Of course with spreads you have the "ShtSellX" and then the "CvrShrtX" which is correct. Can you guys fix the expired options issue. I'm using ETrade.

Thanks!!

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Rocket J Squirrel

Put on your onesies and talk to E*Trade about fixing the incorrect transaction information they are sending.

dfatq

How do you view the raw data quicken downloaded to see what was downloaded.

Rocket J Squirrel

dfatq said:

How do you view the raw data quicken downloaded to see what was downloaded.

Look in your log files, OFX Log in particular for investment transactions.

Jim_Harman

The link to see the log files has moved recently.

Go to Help > Contact Support > Log files

dfatq

Dog gone thing lost my post. I have to redo it - it won't be as good. Anyway, it's quicken that needs to be fixed.

For example of a "BuyToOpen" that expires it looks like:

<CLOSUREOPT>
<INVTRAN>
<FITID>XXXXX
<DTTRADE>20220425170000.000
<MEMO>NDXP APR 22 '22 $13300 PUT(NDX) - EXCHANGE INDEX US NDX
</INVTRAN>
<SECID>
<UNIQUEID>220422NDXPP13300E
<UNIQUEIDTYPE>CUSIP
</SECID>
<OPTACTION>EXPIRE
<UNITS>-1
<SHPERCTRCT>100
<SUBACCTSEC>MARGIN
</CLOSUREOPT>

For a "SellToOpen" that expires looks like:

<CLOSUREOPT>
<INVTRAN>
<FITID>XXXXX
<DTTRADE>20220421170000.000
<MEMO>NDXP APR 20 '22 $14300 CALL(NDX) - EXCHANGE INDEX US NDX
</INVTRAN>
<SECID>
<UNIQUEID>220420NDXPC14300E
<UNIQUEIDTYPE>CUSIP
</SECID>
<OPTACTION>EXPIRE
<UNITS>1
<SHPERCTRCT>100
<SUBACCTSEC>SHORT
</CLOSUREOPT>

So it can look if the "UNITS" are negative (SoldX) or positive (CvrShrtX) to see what the "EXPIRE" type should be. As it is now, both types get a "CvrShrtX". It can also know by looking at the transaction types used to enable the position BuyToOpen, SellToOpen (normal close ends up with a "SellToClose" and "BuyToClose" respectively) but that seems like more work than needed.

NotACPA

Jim_Harman said:

Go to Help > Contact Support > Log files

@Jim_Harman Which Release of Q are you running? Because in my R39.23 it's still on HELP, Log Files.

Jim_Harman

For some reason it was moved in R40.xx.

Rocket J Squirrel

The underlying problem is that Quicken does not understand exchange-traded options. It's simply not a feature of the program. In this case, E*Trade is sending correct data that Quicken cannot handle. To track options, the user has to manually correct the downloaded transactions.

dfatq

They just need a simple fix to their logic on the expired options. The rest of it is working fine. If they open source the code I can fix it for them.

Rocket J Squirrel

Q has no "Expired" action. If E*trade would lower its sights and send simple Buy to Close, Cover Short, etc. transactions, Q could get it right.

Many, including me, have wished for source code. Forget it.

dfatq

It doesn't need anything else, it just needs to use SoldX instead of CvrShrtX when the expired option "UNITS" are negative. Right now it always uses "CvrShrtX" for expired options.

dfatq

Thanks, I looked at the log files and it's something that quicken needs to fix. I didn't have a simple one sell short open, expire via cover example, but for a simple purchase of a Buy to Open of an NDX option that expires you get a <BUYOPT>, <CLOSUREOPT>, and <OPTINFO> section. The closure looks like:

<CLOSUREOPT>
<INVTRAN>
<FITID>XXXXXXXXXX
<DTTRADE>20220425170000.000
<MEMO>NDXP APR 22 '22 $13300 PUT(NDX) - EXCHANGE INDEX US NDX
</INVTRAN>
<SECID>
<UNIQUEID>220422NDXPP13300E
<UNIQUEIDTYPE>CUSIP
</SECID>
<OPTACTION>EXPIRE
<UNITS>-1
<SHPERCTRCT>100
<SUBACCTSEC>MARGIN
</CLOSUREOPT>

Whereas when a Sell to Open option expires it looks like:

<CLOSUREOPT>
<INVTRAN>
<FITID>XXXXXXXX
<DTTRADE>20220421170000.000
<MEMO>NDXP APR 20 '22 $14300 CALL(NDX) - EXCHANGE INDEX US NDX
</INVTRAN>
<SECID>
<UNIQUEID>220420NDXPC14300E
<UNIQUEIDTYPE>CUSIP
</SECID>
<OPTACTION>EXPIRE
<UNITS>1
<SHPERCTRCT>100
<SUBACCTSEC>SHORT
</CLOSUREOPT>

So when it's an <OPTACTION> of "EXPIRE" you can tell the type based on the UNITS being positive (expiring/closing a sell to open position - record as CvrShrtX) vs negative (expiring/closing a buy to open position - record as SoldX). I'm not sure if the SUBACCTSEC is any help, I'd let the experts decide on that. When you buy/sell (using the unique ID) it tells you in the <SELLOPT> such as <OPTSELLTYPE>SELLTOOPEN or <OPTSELLTYPE>SELLTOCLOSE; or in a <BUYOPT> it's a <OPTBUYTYPE>BUYTOOPEN or <OPTBUYTYPE>BUYTOCLOSE on what it was all about. But that part is working, it's just when a normal "Buy to Open" option expires that it's recording it wrong as "CvrShrtX" instead of "SoldX".

Thanks!!