Trade Republic shows a loss on a 12.4% gain sale

An investor sold General Mills shares with a 12.4% gain, but Trade Republic showed him a 2.88% loss. The recurring glitch involves foreign currencies.

English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published

Trade Republic shows a loss on a 12.4% gain sale

The German neobroker is making headlines again. An investor sold 100% of his position in General Mills (GIS) with a real profit of over 12%, but the app reported a 2.88% loss. The paradox is not a user calculation error, but a recurring glitch in the broker's interface when trading foreign securities.

What exactly peine?

The numbers speak for themselves: he bought 30 General Mills shares at an average price of 29.14 euros (about 874 euros) and sold them at 32.83 euros each, receiving 984.90 euros minus the 1 euro fee. The net gain: 109.70 euros, or 12.4% on the investment. However, when the order settled, the app showed a negative return of 2.88%. No hidden fees or tax withholdings: the money did reach the account. The app just didn't show it.

The source of the glitch: a bug with foreign currencies

Trade Republic updates quotes with a delay and calculates the performance of dollar positions using a static or outdated exchange rate. When selling, the system applied an incorrect purchase price —possibly a poorly calculated weighted average after several partial purchases—, producing that absurd -2.88%. It is not an isolated case: several investors report the same behavior with US stocks and ETFs. The actual trade was correct, but the interface confuses users to the point of making them doubt their own accounting.

Blind trust or keeping an Excel sheet: the low-cost investor's dilemma

The incident reopens the debate about the reliability of flat-fee brokers. With Trade Republic, DEGIRO or Interactive Brokers, the savings on fees come at the cost of software quality. Anyone who trades frequently and accumulates multiple partial purchases needs their own records, because the broker's average price calculation is not always reliable. "If I can't trust the platform, that's it, I'm done," the affected investor summed up. A lesson learned at the cost of a good scare.

Can you trust the actual balance?

The error is purely visual: the money is where it should be. But for an investor who tracks positions in real time, watching a +12.4% turn into -2.88% upon selling erodes confidence. Trade Republic has not issued an official statement about the bug, although the support team acknowledges it as a "known error" in open tickets. Meanwhile, the practical advice is clear: download the confirmations for every trade and keep a parallel record. Because when the app gets it wrong, it's the customer who pays the price.

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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (65 replies).

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