UNDERSTAND THE RESULT
The calculation, explained clearly
An overseas investment can gain in its trading currency while losing value in the investor’s home currency. This calculator converts the purchase and current value using two explicit exchange rates, then separates the stock-price factor from the currency factor. Fees and dividends remain visible instead of being mixed into the market-return explanation.
Use broker execution rates when available. The optional European Central Bank lookup provides dated reference rates for comparison, not tradable quotes. The page never fetches a stock price and does not assess a company, recommend a trade or estimate the tax treatment of cross-border investing.
When this calculator helps
- Explain why a foreign share’s local-market return differs from the return shown in a home-currency account.
- Compare a broker’s actual exchange rates with dated ECB reference rates where supported.
- Estimate a home-currency break-even share price after the entered fees and dividends.
How to use it
- Select home and stock currencies, then enter shares, purchase price, current price and total dividends in stock currency.
- Open Advanced options to enter dates, exchange rates and home-currency fees. The rate direction is always one unit of stock currency expressed in home currency.
- Optionally load ECB reference rates, overwrite them with broker rates when available and inspect the price × currency factor chain.
Method and interpretation
Purchase value in home currency equals shares × buy price × buy exchange rate, plus the home-currency buy fee. Current value equals shares × current price × current exchange rate. Dividends are converted at the current exchange rate, then the sell fee is deducted to calculate net profit.
The stock factor is current price divided by buy price. The currency factor is current exchange rate divided by buy exchange rate. Their product is the combined market factor before dividends and fees. Showing multiplication matters because a 10% stock gain and a 10% currency gain combine to 21%, not 20%.
Annualized return uses the entered dates when the elapsed period is positive. ECB requests contain only base currency, quote currency and date; shares, prices, fees, dividends and calculated results remain in the browser.
Assumptions and limits
- Every exchange rate follows one stated direction: 1 unit of stock currency equals the displayed amount of home currency.
- ECB rates are informational references and may differ from broker, card, bank or executable market rates.
- Dividends are converted at the current rate as a simplification; their actual payment-date rates are not modeled.
- Taxes, withholding, spreads, live prices, corporate actions and multiple purchase lots are excluded.
Frequently asked questions
Which direction should I enter the exchange rate?
Always enter the amount of home currency equal to one unit of stock currency. For an EUR stock and USD home currency, a rate of 1.10 means EUR 1 equals USD 1.10. Reversing this direction produces a different result.
How can the stock rise while I lose money at home?
If the stock currency weakens enough against the home currency, the exchange-rate decline can outweigh the local share-price gain. Fees can also turn a small combined gain into a net loss.
Are ECB rates the rates my broker used?
No. The ECB states that its reference rates are for information and discourages their use for transactions. Use the actual rates from contract notes or account records when checking a real position.
How are dividends and fees handled?
Dividends are entered in stock currency and converted using the current rate. Buy and sell fees are entered directly in home currency. This simplification does not reproduce payment-date exchange rates or withholding tax.
Does the calculator include live prices or tax?
No. Prices are entered by the user and no security quote is requested. Capital-gains tax, dividend withholding, reporting rules and personal allowances depend on jurisdiction and circumstances and are outside this calculator.