Hi. I recently started purchasing foreign etfs that are considered FIFs. I want to gain exposure to sectors not well represented in nz/aus such as tech (i.e. apple, google etc), while staying under the 50k exemption limit for the foreseeable future. But I don't think I understand this well enough to achieve that goal just yet.

I've been looking into how the de minimis exemption works but haven't found any info on how buys and sells are treated (I'm not a trader). As I understand it your FIFs must COST less than 50k NZD (inc brokerage) to be exempt. Here is an example of what I mean:
In order of 1,2,3
1. I spend 30k on some FIF, it's value rises to 60k. Total cost remains 30k, qualifies for exemption.
2. I sell 30k of that same FIF, value is now 30k. Total cost is now 0, qualifies for exemption.
3. I spend 49k on a different FIF entity, total value of all FIFs is 79k. Total cost of my FIFs is 49k, qualifies for exemption.

Intuitively I think 3 should not qualify for exemption, given you could just sell some once you make gains to reduce your total (net) cost, allowing you to build a large total FIF value without exceeding 50k of cost. But I haven't been able to find anything that clarifies this. Any gurus out there able to shed some light on this for me? Any assistance is much appreciated