---
title: "Target vs deployed"
description: "Target vs deployed is the gap between a holding's target value and what is actually put to work in it, because you can only buy whole shares."
canonical_url: "https://fincanva.com/glossary/target-vs-deployed"
last_updated: "2026-10-07"
md_url: "https://fincanva.com/glossary/target-vs-deployed.md"
---

# Target vs deployed

Target vs deployed is the gap between what a holding is meant to be worth — its [target notional](/glossary/target-notional) — and what is actually put to work once the position is a whole number of shares at the latest price. On the Positions view these are the "Target value" and "Deployed" columns of the "Target positions & exits" sheet.

## How does Fincanva handle it?

- Deployed is normally at or below the target value, long or short — the share count is floored on its magnitude, so rounding moves toward zero; the two exceptions are in [how is the deployed amount calculated?](#how-is-the-deployed-amount-calculated).
- On a long, the difference (target value − deployed) is leftover cash that stays uninvested for that holding — no partial-share position is taken.
- Share counts follow each [instrument](/glossary/instrument)'s own price, so the gap differs from one holding to the next.
- [Accuracy](/glossary/accuracy) averages ratios, not these gaps: each holding's deployed amount divided by its target value, with every holding counting equally.

## What does it look like in practice?

A holding has a target value of 2,500 and the instrument trades at 412. Dividing gives 2,500 ÷ 412 = 6.06, which rounds down to 6 shares. Deploying 6 × 412 = 2,472, so 2,472 is deployed against a 2,500 target — 28 stays as cash, because a 7th share (another 412) would overshoot the target.

*Both figures describe a [strategy](/glossary/strategy)'s paper target positions, never real orders, and neither is a recommended amount to put into any instrument.*

## How is the deployed amount calculated?

Divide the holding's target value by the instrument's price, round down to a whole number of shares, then multiply back by the price. You cannot buy a fraction of a share, so the deployed amount is the target rounded down — the leftover is a small amount of cash, not a trade.

$$
\begin{gathered}
\text{shares} = \left\lfloor \frac{{\text{target value}}}{{\text{price}}} \right\rfloor \\[6pt]
{\text{deployed}} = \text{shares} \times {\text{price}}
\end{gathered}
$$

where:

- the holding's target value
- the instrument's latest price
- the money actually put to work; the brackets round down to the nearest whole share

A `Short` position works the same way: the share count is floored on its magnitude before the side is applied, so a short's deployed amount is normally no larger than its target either. Rounding moves both sides toward zero, and the gap is under one share's worth either way.

Two cases are exceptions: a quantity within a hair of a whole share is counted as that share, so deployed comes out a hair over; and a [Combined](/glossary/combined) whose strategies hold one instrument on opposite sides rounds each side before netting, so its net deployed amount can land well above or below the net target. [Accuracy](/glossary/accuracy) explains both, with an example.

## What counts as a large gap?

The gap is normally small — under one share's worth of value for each strategy that holds the instrument. It is largest for high-priced instruments held with little capital, where a single share is a big slice of the target, and negligible for low-priced instruments or large capital. On a long it is leftover cash; on a short it is a slightly smaller position than the target. Neither is a loss.

Fincanva is for education and illustration only. It is not personalised financial advice, and past or simulated results do not predict future ones. [Read the Terms Addendum](https://fincanva.com/terms/addendum#section-3)