diff --git a/app/models/account.rb b/app/models/account.rb
index 43e02cfd..09800168 100644
--- a/app/models/account.rb
+++ b/app/models/account.rb
@@ -59,28 +59,22 @@ class Account < ApplicationRecord
     def create_and_sync(attributes)
       attributes[:accountable_attributes] ||= {} # Ensure accountable is created, even if empty
       account = new(attributes.merge(cash_balance: attributes[:balance]))
-      initial_balance = attributes.dig(:accountable_attributes, :initial_balance)&.to_d || 0
+      initial_balance = attributes.dig(:accountable_attributes, :initial_balance)&.to_d || account.balance
 
-      transaction do
-        # Create 2 valuations for new accounts to establish a value history for users to see
-        account.entries.build(
-          name: "Current Balance",
-          date: Date.current,
-          amount: account.balance,
-          currency: account.currency,
-          entryable: Valuation.new
-        )
-        account.entries.build(
-          name: "Initial Balance",
-          date: 1.day.ago.to_date,
-          amount: initial_balance,
-          currency: account.currency,
-          entryable: Valuation.new
+      account.entries.build(
+        name: Valuation::Name.new("opening_anchor", account.accountable_type).to_s,
+        date: 2.years.ago.to_date,
+        amount: initial_balance,
+        currency: account.currency,
+        entryable: Valuation.new(
+          kind: "opening_anchor",
+          balance: initial_balance,
+          cash_balance: initial_balance,
+          currency: account.currency
         )
+      )
 
-        account.save!
-      end
-
+      account.save!
       account.sync_later
       account
     end
diff --git a/app/models/account/balance_updater.rb b/app/models/account/balance_updater.rb
index d006df3f..1b50a9b5 100644
--- a/app/models/account/balance_updater.rb
+++ b/app/models/account/balance_updater.rb
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ class Account::BalanceUpdater
 
       valuation_entry.amount = balance
       valuation_entry.currency = currency if currency.present?
-      valuation_entry.name = "Manual #{account.accountable.balance_display_name} update"
+      valuation_entry.name = valuation_name(valuation_entry.entryable, account)
       valuation_entry.notes = notes if notes.present?
       valuation_entry.save!
     end
@@ -44,4 +44,8 @@ class Account::BalanceUpdater
     def requires_update?
       date != Date.current || account.balance != balance || account.currency != currency
     end
+
+    def valuation_name(valuation_entry, account)
+      Valuation::Name.new(valuation_entry.entryable.kind, account.accountable_type).to_s
+    end
 end
diff --git a/app/models/entry.rb b/app/models/entry.rb
index 332cbee9..f59810b6 100644
--- a/app/models/entry.rb
+++ b/app/models/entry.rb
@@ -14,6 +14,11 @@ class Entry < ApplicationRecord
   validates :date, uniqueness: { scope: [ :account_id, :entryable_type ] }, if: -> { valuation? }
   validates :date, comparison: { greater_than: -> { min_supported_date } }
 
+  # To ensure we can recreate balance history solely from Entries, all entries must post on or before the current anchor (i.e. "Current balance"),
+  # and after the opening anchor (i.e. "Opening balance").  This domain invariant should be enforced by the Account model when adding/modifying entries.
+  validate :date_after_opening_anchor
+  validate :date_on_or_before_current_anchor
+
   scope :visible, -> {
     joins(:account).where(accounts: { status: [ "draft", "active" ] })
   }
@@ -96,4 +101,39 @@ class Entry < ApplicationRecord
       all.size
     end
   end
+
+  private
+    def date_after_opening_anchor
+      return unless account && date
+
+      # Skip validation for anchor valuations themselves
+      return if valuation? && entryable.kind.in?(%w[opening_anchor current_anchor])
+
+      opening_anchor_date = account.valuations
+                                   .joins(:entry)
+                                   .where(kind: "opening_anchor")
+                                   .pluck(Arel.sql("entries.date"))
+                                   .first
+
+      if opening_anchor_date && date <= opening_anchor_date
+        errors.add(:date, "must be after the opening balance date (#{opening_anchor_date})")
+      end
+    end
+
+    def date_on_or_before_current_anchor
+      return unless account && date
+
+      # Skip validation for anchor valuations themselves
+      return if valuation? && entryable.kind.in?(%w[opening_anchor current_anchor])
+
+      current_anchor_date = account.valuations
+                                   .joins(:entry)
+                                   .where(kind: "current_anchor")
+                                   .pluck(Arel.sql("entries.date"))
+                                   .first
+
+      if current_anchor_date && date > current_anchor_date
+        errors.add(:date, "must be on or before the current balance date (#{current_anchor_date})")
+      end
+    end
 end
diff --git a/app/models/valuation.rb b/app/models/valuation.rb
index 6d1d2b4b..b3a823cf 100644
--- a/app/models/valuation.rb
+++ b/app/models/valuation.rb
@@ -1,3 +1,29 @@
 class Valuation < ApplicationRecord
   include Entryable
+
+  enum :kind, {
+    recon: "recon", # A balance reconciliation that sets the Account balance from this point forward (often defined by user)
+    snapshot: "snapshot", # An "event-sourcing snapshot", which is purely for performance so less history is required to derive the balance
+    opening_anchor: "opening_anchor", # Each account has a single opening anchor, which defines the opening balance on the account
+    current_anchor: "current_anchor" # Each account has a single current anchor, which defines the current balance on the account
+  }, validate: true
+
+  # Each account can have at most 1 opening anchor and 1 current anchor. All valuations between these anchors should
+  # be either "recon" or "snapshot". This ensures we can reliably construct the account balance history solely from Entries.
+  validate :unique_anchor_per_account, if: -> { opening_anchor? || current_anchor? }
+
+  private
+    def unique_anchor_per_account
+      return unless entry&.account
+
+      existing_anchor = entry.account.valuations
+                             .joins(:entry)
+                             .where(kind: kind)
+                             .where.not(id: id)
+                             .exists?
+
+      if existing_anchor
+        errors.add(:kind, "#{kind.humanize} already exists for this account")
+      end
+    end
 end
diff --git a/app/models/valuation/name.rb b/app/models/valuation/name.rb
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..e88da599
--- /dev/null
+++ b/app/models/valuation/name.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,63 @@
+# While typically a view concern, we store the `name` in the DB as a denormalized value to keep our search classes simpler.
+# This is a simple class to handle the logic for generating the name.
+class Valuation::Name
+  def initialize(valuation_kind, accountable_type)
+    @valuation_kind = valuation_kind
+    @accountable_type = accountable_type
+  end
+
+  def to_s
+    case valuation_kind
+    when "opening_anchor"
+      opening_anchor_name
+    when "current_anchor"
+      current_anchor_name
+    else
+      recon_name
+    end
+  end
+
+  private
+    attr_reader :valuation_kind, :accountable_type
+
+    # The start value on the account
+    def opening_anchor_name
+      case accountable_type
+      when "Property"
+        "Original purchase price"
+      when "Loan"
+        "Original principal"
+      when "Investment"
+        "Opening account value"
+      else
+        "Opening balance"
+      end
+    end
+
+    # The current value on the account
+    def current_anchor_name
+      case accountable_type
+      when "Property"
+        "Current market value"
+      when "Loan"
+        "Current loan balance"
+      when "Investment"
+        "Current account value"
+      else
+        "Current balance"
+      end
+    end
+
+    # Any "reconciliation" in the middle of the timeline, typically an "override" by the user to account
+    # for missing entries that cause the balance to be incorrect.
+    def recon_name
+      case accountable_type
+      when "Property", "Investment"
+        "Manual value update"
+      when "Loan"
+        "Manual principal update"
+      else
+        "Manual balance update"
+      end
+    end
+end
diff --git a/db/migrate/20250707130134_add_valuation_kind_field_for_anchors.rb b/db/migrate/20250707130134_add_valuation_kind_field_for_anchors.rb
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..1152ad37
--- /dev/null
+++ b/db/migrate/20250707130134_add_valuation_kind_field_for_anchors.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+class AddValuationKindFieldForAnchors < ActiveRecord::Migration[7.2]
+  def up
+    add_column :valuations, :kind, :string, default: "recon"
+    add_column :valuations, :balance, :decimal, precision: 19, scale: 4
+    add_column :valuations, :cash_balance, :decimal, precision: 19, scale: 4
+    add_column :valuations, :currency, :string
+
+    # Copy `amount` from Entry, set both `balance` and `cash_balance` to the same value on all Valuation records, and `currency` from Entry to Valuation
+    execute <<-SQL
+      UPDATE valuations
+      SET
+        balance = entries.amount,
+        cash_balance = entries.amount,
+        currency = entries.currency
+      FROM entries
+      WHERE entries.entryable_type = 'Valuation' AND entries.entryable_id = valuations.id
+    SQL
+
+    change_column_null :valuations, :kind, false
+    change_column_null :valuations, :currency, false
+    change_column_null :valuations, :balance, false
+    change_column_null :valuations, :cash_balance, false
+  end
+
+  def down
+    remove_column :valuations, :kind
+    remove_column :valuations, :balance
+    remove_column :valuations, :cash_balance
+    remove_column :valuations, :currency
+  end
+end
diff --git a/db/schema.rb b/db/schema.rb
index f1bc9daf..af85f677 100644
--- a/db/schema.rb
+++ b/db/schema.rb
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@
 #
 # It's strongly recommended that you check this file into your version control system.
 
-ActiveRecord::Schema[7.2].define(version: 2025_07_01_161640) do
+ActiveRecord::Schema[7.2].define(version: 2025_07_07_130134) do
   # These are extensions that must be enabled in order to support this database
   enable_extension "pgcrypto"
   enable_extension "plpgsql"
@@ -780,6 +780,10 @@ ActiveRecord::Schema[7.2].define(version: 2025_07_01_161640) do
     t.datetime "created_at", null: false
     t.datetime "updated_at", null: false
     t.jsonb "locked_attributes", default: {}
+    t.string "kind", default: "recon", null: false
+    t.decimal "balance", precision: 19, scale: 4, null: false
+    t.decimal "cash_balance", precision: 19, scale: 4, null: false
+    t.string "currency", null: false
   end
 
   create_table "vehicles", id: :uuid, default: -> { "gen_random_uuid()" }, force: :cascade do |t|
diff --git a/lib/tasks/data_migration.rake b/lib/tasks/data_migration.rake
index 509e033c..15408629 100644
--- a/lib/tasks/data_migration.rake
+++ b/lib/tasks/data_migration.rake
@@ -111,4 +111,47 @@ namespace :data_migration do
 
     puts "✅  Duplicate security migration complete."
   end
+
+  desc "Migrate account valuation anchors"
+  # 2025-01-07: Set opening_anchor kinds for valuations to support event-sourced ledger model.
+  # Manual accounts get their oldest valuation marked as opening_anchor, which acts as the
+  # starting balance for the account. Current anchors are only used for Plaid accounts.
+  task migrate_account_valuation_anchors: :environment do
+    puts "==> Migrating account valuation anchors..."
+
+    manual_accounts = Account.manual.includes(valuations: :entry)
+    total_accounts = manual_accounts.count
+    accounts_processed = 0
+    opening_anchors_set = 0
+
+    manual_accounts.find_each do |account|
+      accounts_processed += 1
+
+      # Find oldest valuation for opening anchor
+      oldest_valuation = account.valuations
+                               .joins(:entry)
+                               .order("entries.date ASC, entries.created_at ASC")
+                               .first
+
+      if oldest_valuation && !oldest_valuation.opening_anchor?
+        derived_valuation_name = "#{account.name} Opening Balance"
+
+        Account.transaction do
+          oldest_valuation.update!(kind: "opening_anchor")
+          oldest_valuation.entry.update!(name: derived_valuation_name)
+        end
+        opening_anchors_set += 1
+      end
+
+      if accounts_processed % 100 == 0
+        puts "[#{accounts_processed}/#{total_accounts}] Processed #{accounts_processed} accounts..."
+      end
+    rescue => e
+      puts "ERROR processing account #{account.id}: #{e.message}"
+    end
+
+    puts "✅  Account valuation anchor migration complete."
+    puts "    Processed: #{accounts_processed} accounts"
+    puts "    Opening anchors set: #{opening_anchors_set}"
+  end
 end