Follow £1,000 through, step by step

Apple
Market currency USD · account currency GBP · allocation £1,000
1 Size the position
The £1,000 is converted to the market currency at the opening spot rate, then divided by the market price — and carried to eight decimal places, so nothing is rounded away.
2 The market moves, you close
3 Convert the result to your account
If the exchange rate had not moved
£100.00
profit at the opening rate
At the actual closing exchange rate
£103.79
what reaches your account
FX impact on the result
+£3.79
the currency move helped
Illustration only. Figures exclude the spread and any funding costs. A gain is shown to demonstrate the mechanic; markets can fall as well as rise and you could lose the amount you allocate. Rates and prices are examples, not live quotes.
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The market price tells you the gain. The currency tells you what you keep. Two positions can make the identical percentage move and land differently in your account, purely because of how their currency moved against the pound. When the market is priced in sterling — like the FTSE — there is no FX impact at all.

The full worked set

Every column is a £1,000 allocation held to the same illustrative move. The account result and the FX impact are the two rows that tell the story.

All amounts in GBP unless stated. Quantities are carried to eight decimal places; profit is shown in the market currency, then converted to the account currency. Figures are illustrations only, exclude the spread and any funding costs, and are not a quote or an offer. Tax treatment depends on your circumstances and can change.

Allocate an amount. We do the numbers.

From £25, across indices, shares, commodities and FX — sized to eight decimal places, with no Capital Gains Tax or Stamp Duty on profits.

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