Issue with Merrill Lynch account since reauthorization - account balance is wrong [Edited]

jdparker225

@MELCO

https://community.quicken.com/discussion/comment/20535522#Comment_20535522

I don’t fully understand this issue. What does it have to do with the transition to EWC+? Trades have always had the trade date as the date in Quicken rather than the settlement date even though with Direct Connect trade transactions weren’t downloaded until after settlement while with EWC+ trade transactions are downloaded before settlement. I have looked at the old qfx files and the trade transactions do have both dates but Quicken only appears to have used the trade date. Did it actually save the settlement date somewhere accessible to the user? I have looked at the synclogs and trade transactions do not have settlement date. What am I missing?

To be clear, I am not looking for an explanation of the importance of settlement date vs trade date, I am wondering why it is being brought up in this context.

Thanks, Jim

MELCO

@jdparker225 Just because it's always been doesn't make it right. I didn't fully understand the issue until the EWC+ transition. Researching the litany of other issues, I realized it's been consistent all along, and I'm just lucky I haven't been burnt by it…or the taxing authorities didn't pick it up either. I noticed this in EWC+ because the trade date was downloaded as "Pending" transactions, whereby in DC, it wasn't stated as such, from what I remember. I assumed, incorrectly, that the trade date via DC was being downloaded.

Quicken should know the importance of this accounting issue. My official Merrill Lynch statements show the Settlement date/Trade date. Aside from the fact that the trade date is the legal date of sale, the issue can come up when you buy a stock on 12/31, but it doesn't settle until 1/2 of the following year. My quicken reports will be off and my reconciliation process will be off, just like a dividend paid in one year but the reinvestment doesn't happen until the next year. More work, not correct, and Quicken should fix it as everything is EWC+ moving forward.

Personally, I pay Quicken to do things the right way, and to simplify my workload, neither of which I am finding since the DC to EWC+ transition.

Quicken has been slowly making some corrections, but they need to keep after it. I have to reconcile to the official month end statements, and if Merrill Lynch has all of the information on the statements, it has to be in the system, and I suspect it either have to be exposed or needs to be exposed for Quick to use the correct information.

Having said the above, and although this is what I was taught, I just got further clarification on the trade versus settlement dates:

The settlement date is generally when legal ownership of the stock officially transfers from the seller to the buyer (or vice versa for purchases). Under current U.S. rules (T+1 settlement as of mid-2024), this happens one business day after the trade date, when payment is exchanged, shares are delivered, and the transfer is recorded with the transfer agent or clearing system. You don't legally own the shares until settlement completes—the trade date is just when the order executes and a binding contract is created. However, for IRS tax purposes (capital gains/loss recognition, reporting year, and holding period), the rules prioritize the trade date over the settlement date in most cases. This is the standard approach for regular stock trades on established markets. There are exceptions to this, like short sales, or when a sale doesn't go thru, which is why I've always been informed to use the settlement date. The Distinction Exists on the Legal/operational side (SEC, brokerage rules) whereby Settlement date = actual transfer of title, funds, and risk (e.g., you get dividends or voting rights only after settlement in some cases). On the tax side (IRS) it focuses on when the sale is effectively agreed upon and the gain/loss is realized economically, to prevent manipulation (e.g., trying to shift a year-end sale into the next year by relying on settlement).

In summary, it appears that I'll need to continue to manually monitor my buy and sell transactions in various forms to make sure I document them properly.