How much of your portfolio return comes from the euro–dollar exchange rate?
Last updated · By StockDashes
StockDashes shows it as its own figure: the Currency Impact card on the performance page gives the amount exchange rates added to or took from your holdings over the period you pick, in euros or US dollars, next to your time-weighted return against the S&P 500 total return in the same currency. For a euro investor in US shares, every holding moves with two things at once — the share price in dollars and the euro–dollar rate. StockDashes measures the currency part per purchase: what the shares are worth in dollars, times how far the rate has moved since the purchase or since the start of the period. A stronger dollar is a tailwind for a euro investor, a weaker dollar a headwind.
How StockDashes shows it
Currency Impact: one amount, for the period you pick
On the performance page, the Currency Impact card follows the chart’s period: 1M, YTD, 1Y, All, or since the start date you set. The line under the amount says Tailwind (USD strengthened) or Headwind (USD weakened), and splits the amount into open positions and realised gains — plus an estimated part when your trade history doesn’t explain every share you hold.
Per purchase, at the rate of the day
Each purchase is followed on its own, first in, first out. For shares you still hold, the effect is their value in dollars today times the change in the rate since the purchase. For a position you closed, it is what the shares brought in times the change in the rate up to that day. Rates are the day’s closing rate; on a DEGIRO import in the euro view, the rate on each of your own orders is used when it is within 10% of that day’s close.
Next to your return and the S&P 500
The chart Your portfolio vs the S&P 500 shows your time-weighted return in your currency. The S&P 500 next to it is its total return converted at each day’s euro–dollar rate, so both lines carry the same currency effect and the comparison stays fair. In the euro view, the EUR/USD Rate card and chart show where the rate itself went.
Dollars, pounds and pence
Holdings priced in US dollars and in British pounds or pence are converted at each day’s rate, and their currency effect is measured against the currency you chose: euros or US dollars.
A worked example
A fictional euro investor holds 100 shares of a US company. At the start the share price is 100 dollars and a euro is worth 1.10 dollars: the holding is worth 10,000 dollars, or 9,090.91 euros. A year later the share is at 110 dollars and a euro is worth 1.20 dollars.
| In dollars | In euros | |
|---|---|---|
| At the start (1 euro = 1.10 dollars) | 10,000.00 | 9,090.91 |
| A year later (1 euro = 1.20 dollars) | 11,000.00 | 9,166.67 |
| Return | +10.0% | +0.8% |
| Currency Impact | −833.33 | |
| The share’s own move | +909.09 |
The share rose +10.0% in dollars, but the investor’s return in euros is +0.8%. The Currency Impact card would show −833.33 euros, a headwind: 11,000 dollars times the drop in the euro value of a dollar, from 1/1.10 to 1/1.20. The rest, +909.09 euros, is what the share’s own rise added at the starting rate. Together they make the +75.76 euros the holding gained in euros.
What you need
- An account: you sign in, and your portfolio stays private to it.
- Your trade history: import your broker’s export — DEGIRO, Saxo, Trading 212, Rabobank, Fidelity, Robinhood, E*TRADE, Vanguard, Charles Schwab or Interactive Brokers. Currency Impact follows each purchase, so the more of your history the file covers, the less of it is estimated.
- Your currency: euros or US dollars, chosen when you set up your account and changed in Settings.
Create your accountThen import your broker’s export: the Currency Impact card is on the performance page.
The currency effect explained, with the formula →
Why DEGIRO’s profit doesn’t match your real return →
Time-weighted vs money-weighted return →
Frequently asked questions
How do I see how much of my return comes from the euro–dollar exchange rate?
StockDashes shows it as its own figure: the Currency Impact card on the performance page gives the amount exchange rates added or took away over the period you pick, in euros or US dollars, measured per purchase.
Why is my return in euros lower than the share’s return in dollars?
Because the dollar weakened against the euro while you held the shares: each dollar of their value converts into fewer euros. When the dollar strengthens it works the other way, and your return in euros is higher than the return in dollars.
Does the S&P 500 comparison include the exchange rate?
Yes. StockDashes converts the S&P 500 total return at each day’s euro–dollar rate into your currency, so your return and the index carry the same currency effect.
Which exchange rate is used?
The day’s closing rate. On a DEGIRO import in the euro view, the rate on each of your own orders is used when it is within 10% of that day’s closing rate.
Can I see it in US dollars?
Yes. Choose US dollars in Settings and the Currency Impact is measured against the dollar: Tailwind when foreign currencies strengthen, Headwind when they weaken.
Which holdings does the return cover?
Holdings listed in the US and European shares that also trade in the US, such as ASML or Shell; the currency effect is measured for holdings priced in US dollars and in British pounds or pence.
The example portfolio is fictional. Nothing on this page is investment advice.