Brokerage Balances
Your brokerage account tracks cash and holdings, each split between borrowed and personal funding.
Cash balances
| Balance | Description |
|---|---|
| Borrowed Cash | Cash from borrowed funds, not yet invested. |
| Personal Cash | Cash that's yours — dividends, gains, deposits. Not tied to borrowed funds. |
Holdings
Each security tracks:
| Attribute | Description |
|---|---|
| Units | Number of shares held |
| Total Cost Base | Total adjusted cost base (ACB) |
| Borrowed Cost Base | Portion of cost funded with borrowed money |
| Personal Cost Base | Portion of cost funded with your own money |
The borrowed/personal ratio determines how sale proceeds and return of capital are allocated.
How balances change
- Borrows → increase borrowed cash
- Deposits → increase personal cash
- Purchases → decrease borrowed and/or personal cash (you choose the split), create/increase holdings
- Sales → borrowed cost recovery returns to borrowed cash; personal cost recovery plus any gain goes to personal cash
- Distributions → income goes to personal cash; RoC is split by the holding's borrowed/personal ratio between borrowed and personal cash
- Withdrawals → decrease borrowed and/or personal cash (you choose the split; personal first by default)
Learn more
- Setting up your first tracking — the basic event cycle
- Glossary — definitions of every balance term