P&LProfit and Loss
Definition
P&L (profit and loss) is the result of your investments: the gain or loss in money. It splits into realized (after selling) and unrealized (on open positions).
P&L stands for profit and loss: the gain or loss expressed in money. For an investment portfolio, it answers how much you actually made or lost on your positions over a period: today, this month, this year or since you started investing.
Realized and unrealized P&L
- Realized P&L comes from units you have already sold. It is “locked in” and will not change with the market.
- Unrealized P&L relates to assets you still hold. It changes every day with prices and exchange rates.
Example: you buy 10 shares at 100, the price rises to 150 and you sell 4 of them. Realized P&L is 4 × 50 = 200, unrealized is 6 × 50 = 300, and the total P&L is 500 (before commissions and tax). The sale did not create profit: 200 just moved from one category to the other.
Daily P&L
Daily P&L shows how much the portfolio’s result changed in a single day. It helps you judge how strongly the portfolio reacts to market moves and how often you have up and down days. A single day, however, says little about the long-term result.
P&L is a money figure. To compare your result with other investments or an index you need a rate of return such as TWR. In a portfolio with foreign assets, P&L in your home currency also includes the effect of the exchange rate.
P&L in FundStat
The Daily P&L module shows the portfolio’s daily results, and the detailed holdings table splits each position’s result into realized and unrealized.
Related terms
All terms- Realized gainA realized gain is the result on units you have sold: sale proceeds minus their purchase cost. It is the realized result, not the paper gain, that is taxed.
- Unrealized gainAn unrealized gain is the profit or loss on assets you still hold: current market value minus purchase cost. It moves with the market until you sell.
- ROIROI is the return on investment: net profit divided by the capital invested, as a percentage. It does not account for how long the investment lasted.
- Exchange-rate impact on investment returnsWith foreign assets, your home-currency return combines the asset’s price change with the exchange-rate change. A stock can rise in dollars and still lose you money.