Investment cost is the price you paid for your investments, not their current value (how much you could sell them for right now). If you sell your shares for a profit or loss, it will impact your investment cost. This is because money you receive from selling shares is added to your available balance, which is stored in a Money Market Fund. The money market fund counts as an investment for FIF purposes, so every time you add money to it, you’re effectively making a new investment.
Your investment cost is measured in NZD, so exchange rates can have an impact, as well as changes to the price of investments. This means that even if you sold shares for the same USD amount you paid for them, a change in exchange rate may mean you wind up with more NZD and therefore a profit.
Your investment cost:
Will stay the same the whole time you own shares, if you don’t buy, sell, withdraw or deposit.
May increase if you sell shares for a profit (in NZD). Your available balance is reinvested into a Money Market Fund, so the new cost price will be the (higher) amount you received from selling shares, not what you paid for them.
May decrease if you sell shares for a loss (in NZD). Your available balance is reinvested into a Money Market Fund, so the new cost price will be the (lower) amount you received from selling shares, not what you paid for them.