I know there have been other threads on this subject but none of them seem to contain a definitive answer. Question: What is the actual process in TWS to settle outstanding currency amounts in the base currency? I know I can use the account window to reduce the market values to nearly zero, but this leaves open positions, is this correct?
Yes, but No! You can reduce market values to zero (or close to), but your FX Portfolio will always show an open position. Just ignore this part and look at the Cash column in the Market Values section to determine your actual positions. ...EX: If I buy 1,000,000 AUD/USD, the Cash Market Values will be AUD: 1,000,000 ; USD: - 680,000. If I completely close the trade for a profit it will then show AUD: 0.00 ; USD 10,000. No need to look at the FX Portfolio, because I know I am holding 10,000 USD. But now I want to take the profit to my home currency, the CAD. So I sell the 10,000 USD and buy CAD. My Cash Market Values will show USD: 0.00 ; CAD: 12,000. No trade, just a conversion...but this is what creates the open position confusion in IB, because now if you looked at your FX Portfolio, it will show you are short the USD/CAD 10,000. This just reflects the conversion of the 10,000 USD to CAD. I hope that helps you make sense of IBs reporting. Bottomline, just look at your actual Cash Market Values, not the FX Portfolio.