Tracking your net worth across currencies: euros, pounds and dollars in one honest number
You moved to Germany, but your old savings account is still in pounds, your brokerage holds US shares and your salary arrives in euros. Once more than one currency is involved, "how much do I have?" has several answers. How to track net worth across currencies consistently, and keep currency effects apart from real returns.
Table of contents
Move to Germany from abroad and your money rarely moves with you in one piece. Your salary arrives in euros, the old savings account back home is still in pounds or dollars, your brokerage holds US shares, and there might be some Bitcoin on top. Every app shows its slice in its own currency, and "how much do I have?" suddenly has several answers.
This article shows how to add up net worth across currencies consistently and how to separate currency effects from real performance. For managing the investment side, see How to manage a multi-currency investment portfolio. This one is about the full picture.
Three common mistakes when adding it all up
- Mixing rates and dates: your UK bank converts at yesterday's rate, your broker at today's. The total is not a clean number.
- Using rates with a markup: bank exchange rates usually include a margin. That's a cost when you exchange money, not a measure of what your savings are worth.
- Mistaking currency moves for returns: your net worth can shrink while you do nothing at all.
An example of the third: you hold $10,000. At 1.10 dollars per euro, that's €9,090.91. If the euro rises to 1.20, it's €8,333.33. Your net worth in euros has dropped by €757.58, with exactly the same balance in the account.
Which rate should you use?
For a net worth overview, the European Central Bank's reference rates work well. They are published every working day at around 16:00 CET, free and the same for everyone. You can't trade at them, which is exactly what makes them neutral: there is no bank margin built in.
What matters most is using the same rate at the same moment for every position. Then your numbers are comparable from month to month.
Pick a base currency
Your base currency is the one you plan, budget and ultimately spend in. If you live in Germany and pay rent in euros, that's usually the euro. If you expect to move back to the UK or the US in a few years, choosing pounds or dollars as your base can make more sense, as long as it's a deliberate choice.
Make currency risk visible
Work out what share of your net worth sits in each currency and compare it with where your future spending will be. If 40% of your savings is in pounds but all your spending is in euros, you carry real currency risk. That can be intentional, but it should be a decision, not an accident.
A common misconception concerns ETFs: the currency an ETF trades in is not its currency risk. A world ETF you buy in euros still holds companies that mostly do business in dollars and other currencies. What counts is the currencies of the companies inside the fund, not the currency on the price tag.
Tax: the currency counts too
If you are tax resident in Germany and sell securities priced in a foreign currency, exchange rate gains and losses are part of your taxable gain. There's a worked example in Dividends, withholding tax and FIFO. Cash held in foreign currency follows separate rules. For larger amounts, check with a tax adviser.
How it works in FinBoard
- Every account keeps its own currency: the pound account stays in pounds, the dollar account in dollars.
- One default currency for all totals: net worth, income and spending appear in the currency you set in Settings.
- ECB reference rates: FinBoard loads them once per working day and converts every account at the same rate.
- 26 currencies: including euros, pounds, dollars, Swiss francs, Polish złoty, Swedish, Danish and Norwegian kroner, and yen. Czech koruna and Hungarian forint are not available at the moment.
Accounts in multiple currencies are part of the Basic plan. On the free plan, every account uses your default currency.
FAQ
Which exchange rate should I use for a net worth overview?
A neutral reference rate such as the ECB's, applied to every position at the same moment. Bank rates with a margin distort the picture.
Can FinBoard show my net worth in pounds?
Yes, if you set pounds as your default currency. Every account is then converted into pounds at the ECB reference rate.
