# Lost 30 Chf by converting CHF to USD and buying VT
**URL:** https://forum.mustachianpost.com/t/lost-30-chf-by-converting-chf-to-usd-and-buying-vt/12319
**Category:** Investing / Funding & Currency conversions
**Created:** [March 28, 2024, 5:18pm UTC](https://forum.mustachianpost.com/t/lost-30-chf-by-converting-chf-to-usd-and-buying-vt/12319 "2024-03-28T17:18:36Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@brokerthanbefore](https://forum.mustachianpost.com/u/brokerthanbefore)
#### Post date: [March 28, 2024, 5:18pm UTC](https://forum.mustachianpost.com/t/lost-30-chf-by-converting-chf-to-usd-and-buying-vt/12319/1 "2024-03-28T17:18:37Z")
I made my first transaction of rougly 5000 chf to my newly opened ikbr account. No fees as expected.
After converting the CHF to USD, a decrease in my portfolio value caught my eye: I lost 1.81 USD(commissions) and 9.81 USD for “transaction”, according to the performance review. Is the latter normal or did I do something wrong?
After the conversion of the cash I went on to buy VT stocks for roughly 5300 USD. After the completion of the trade, my portfolio value lost another 17.87 Chf, which I cannot locate on the performance review pdf.
Do you think these sums are normal or did I do something wrong? (As you may have guessed, I’m new to IKBR)
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### Author:  [@SwissMousse](https://forum.mustachianpost.com/u/SwissMousse)
#### Post date: [March 28, 2024, 5:30pm UTC](https://forum.mustachianpost.com/t/lost-30-chf-by-converting-chf-to-usd-and-buying-vt/12319/2 "2024-03-28T17:30:49Z")
It sounds strange, but you should be able to find the reason in some reports.
Converting currency should be 2 CHF.
Regarding commissions:
Did you activate tiered pricing already?
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### Author:  [@brokerthanbefore](https://forum.mustachianpost.com/u/brokerthanbefore)
#### Post date: [March 28, 2024, 5:39pm UTC](https://forum.mustachianpost.com/t/lost-30-chf-by-converting-chf-to-usd-and-buying-vt/12319/3 "2024-03-28T17:39:28Z")
Thanks for response!
No, “tiered pricing” wasn’t activated at the time of the trades. Changed the setting as of now.
Any ideas which report I should look into? Only took a glance over the activity report, on which I found the 9.81 transaction costs and the trade confirmation report, which concluded that I paid 1 USD in commissions…
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### Author:  [@brokerthanbefore](https://forum.mustachianpost.com/u/brokerthanbefore)
#### Post date: [March 28, 2024, 5:42pm UTC](https://forum.mustachianpost.com/t/lost-30-chf-by-converting-chf-to-usd-and-buying-vt/12319/4 "2024-03-28T17:42:14Z")
this is a screenshot of the Forex MTM summary
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### Author:  [@SwissMousse](https://forum.mustachianpost.com/u/SwissMousse)
#### Post date: [March 28, 2024, 5:46pm UTC](https://forum.mustachianpost.com/t/lost-30-chf-by-converting-chf-to-usd-and-buying-vt/12319/5 "2024-03-28T17:46:08Z")
I’d expect (with tiered) that you would pay about 0,30 USD for a 5000 USD purchase of VT, normally.
Reports-\>other reports-\>transactions cost analysis
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### Author:  [@brokerthanbefore](https://forum.mustachianpost.com/u/brokerthanbefore)
#### Post date: [March 28, 2024, 5:53pm UTC](https://forum.mustachianpost.com/t/lost-30-chf-by-converting-chf-to-usd-and-buying-vt/12319/6 "2024-03-28T17:53:56Z")
Can you make sense of these numbers? There’s no mention of the 9.75 transaction cost listed in the summary screenshot above…
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### Author:  [@SwissMousse](https://forum.mustachianpost.com/u/SwissMousse)
#### Post date: [March 28, 2024, 6:06pm UTC](https://forum.mustachianpost.com/t/lost-30-chf-by-converting-chf-to-usd-and-buying-vt/12319/7 "2024-03-28T18:06:56Z")
Seems indeed that report is a bit too much detail… maybe your monthly activity report is better?
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### Author:  [@brokerthanbefore](https://forum.mustachianpost.com/u/brokerthanbefore)
#### Post date: [March 28, 2024, 6:11pm UTC](https://forum.mustachianpost.com/t/lost-30-chf-by-converting-chf-to-usd-and-buying-vt/12319/8 "2024-03-28T18:11:05Z")
this one right here?
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### Author:  [@klik](https://forum.mustachianpost.com/u/klik)
#### Post date: [March 28, 2024, 6:11pm UTC](https://forum.mustachianpost.com/t/lost-30-chf-by-converting-chf-to-usd-and-buying-vt/12319/9 "2024-03-28T18:11:22Z")
You haven’t paid any transaction cost other than the commission. You can find the commission/fee in the Trades section of the Activity report.
The transaction P/L that you’re looking at is an accounting thing that you shouldn’t care about.
And your portfolio is fluctuating as the currency exchange rate moves.
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### Author:  [@brokerthanbefore](https://forum.mustachianpost.com/u/brokerthanbefore)
#### Post date: [March 28, 2024, 6:15pm UTC](https://forum.mustachianpost.com/t/lost-30-chf-by-converting-chf-to-usd-and-buying-vt/12319/10 "2024-03-28T18:15:36Z")
Thanks! So according to the trades section I payed 3 dollars in fees in total for both the currency conversion and the VT-etf acquisition.
Those 11.56 in transaction P/L are nonetheless missing from my portfolio value, which apparently does not happen to other users. Any way to avoid this next time?
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### Author:  [@brokerthanbefore](https://forum.mustachianpost.com/u/brokerthanbefore)
#### Post date: [March 28, 2024, 6:18pm UTC](https://forum.mustachianpost.com/t/lost-30-chf-by-converting-chf-to-usd-and-buying-vt/12319/11 "2024-03-28T18:18:36Z")
Furthermore, I still can’t quite grasp how I lost 23 chf in total by just simply converting currency and buying etf-stocks ☹
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### Author:  [@klik](https://forum.mustachianpost.com/u/klik)
#### Post date: [March 28, 2024, 6:22pm UTC](https://forum.mustachianpost.com/t/lost-30-chf-by-converting-chf-to-usd-and-buying-vt/12319/12 "2024-03-28T18:22:24Z")
You can’t avoid it. The loss/profit item is there because the market value of USD / VT has changed between your purchase and the last price that day (or something like that).
Nothing to be concerned about. You’ve lost value because the thing you’ve bought is worth less. Tomorrow it might be worth more, or even less. That’s normal
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### Author:  [@brokerthanbefore](https://forum.mustachianpost.com/u/brokerthanbefore)
#### Post date: [March 28, 2024, 6:26pm UTC](https://forum.mustachianpost.com/t/lost-30-chf-by-converting-chf-to-usd-and-buying-vt/12319/13 "2024-03-28T18:26:08Z")
Thanks for your reassurence! What still baffles me is the magnitude of the loss/profit ratio. According to the portfolio tab the value of my VT stocks have increased by 0.07%, so the 20 chf loss must solely stem from usd to chf exchange rate fluctuations?
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### Author:  [@Dr.PI](https://forum.mustachianpost.com/u/Dr.PI)
#### Post date: [March 28, 2024, 6:27pm UTC](https://forum.mustachianpost.com/t/lost-30-chf-by-converting-chf-to-usd-and-buying-vt/12319/14 "2024-03-28T18:27:50Z")
> [@brokerthanbefore](#):
>
> I lost 1.81 USD(commissions)
This is an equivalent of 2 USD, exchange fee, in your base currency.
> [@brokerthanbefore](#):
>
> 9.81 USD for “transaction”
Was it “booked”, deducted as cash, or just shown as Profit & Loss?
I think you have a misunderstanding of what is happening. These “losses” are nothing else then the difference between the current value and the purchase value (cost basis). It is constantly changing. Just ignore its momentary value.
P.S. exactly what I meant.
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### Author:  [@Dr.PI](https://forum.mustachianpost.com/u/Dr.PI)
#### Post date: [March 28, 2024, 6:32pm UTC](https://forum.mustachianpost.com/t/lost-30-chf-by-converting-chf-to-usd-and-buying-vt/12319/15 "2024-03-28T18:32:28Z")
> [@brokerthanbefore](#):
>
> transaction
Means a change due to the transaction made that day. Tomorrow it will be"position ".
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### Author:  [@brokerthanbefore](https://forum.mustachianpost.com/u/brokerthanbefore)
#### Post date: [March 28, 2024, 7:04pm UTC](https://forum.mustachianpost.com/t/lost-30-chf-by-converting-chf-to-usd-and-buying-vt/12319/16 "2024-03-28T19:04:45Z")
Thanks a lot for your reassurance/explanation! I wasn’t aware that such “big” fluctuations in my portfolio value could happen within such short timeframes (few hours). I guess I just have to get used to it 🙂
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### Author:  [@San\_Francisco](https://forum.mustachianpost.com/u/San_Francisco)
#### Post date: [March 28, 2024, 7:13pm UTC](https://forum.mustachianpost.com/t/lost-30-chf-by-converting-chf-to-usd-and-buying-vt/12319/17 "2024-03-28T19:13:43Z")
> [@brokerthanbefore](#):
>
> After the conversion of the cash I went on to buy VT stocks for roughly 5300 USD
Was the currency conversion already settled? 🤔
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### Author:  [@Mirager](https://forum.mustachianpost.com/u/Mirager)
#### Post date: [March 28, 2024, 7:42pm UTC](https://forum.mustachianpost.com/t/lost-30-chf-by-converting-chf-to-usd-and-buying-vt/12319/18 "2024-03-28T19:42:52Z")
You’ll live through it I’m sure.
Before you know it day fluctuations will range in the hundreds, then thousands. In 20+ years it will hopefully be tens of thousands, it’s all normal.
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### Author:  [@brokerthanbefore](https://forum.mustachianpost.com/u/brokerthanbefore)
#### Post date: [March 28, 2024, 7:46pm UTC](https://forum.mustachianpost.com/t/lost-30-chf-by-converting-chf-to-usd-and-buying-vt/12319/19 "2024-03-28T19:46:23Z")
Yes. To my understanding, trading with unsettled cash is not possible.
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### Author:  [@brokerthanbefore](https://forum.mustachianpost.com/u/brokerthanbefore)
#### Post date: [March 28, 2024, 7:47pm UTC](https://forum.mustachianpost.com/t/lost-30-chf-by-converting-chf-to-usd-and-buying-vt/12319/20 "2024-03-28T19:47:59Z")
Hopefulley haha!
I just wasnted to make sure I didnt‘t mess up in some way, especially in the hindsight of upcoming investments with bigger sums!
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