How do you calculate total investment return? (2024)

Last updated on Nov 30, 2023

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What is total investment return?

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How to calculate total investment return?

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Why is total investment return important?

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What are the limitations of total investment return?

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How to improve your total investment return?

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Here’s what else to consider

If you are an investor, you probably want to know how well your portfolio is performing over time. One way to measure your investment performance is by calculating your total investment return, which reflects both the income and the growth of your assets. In this article, you will learn how to calculate your total investment return and what factors affect it.

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  • Dereck Britt Background Actor

    How do you calculate total investment return? (7) 5

How do you calculate total investment return? (8) How do you calculate total investment return? (9) How do you calculate total investment return? (10)

1 What is total investment return?

Total investment return is the percentage change in the value of your portfolio over a given period, taking into account both the income you receive and the capital gains or losses you realize. Income includes dividends, interest, and distributions from mutual funds or ETFs. Capital gains or losses are the difference between the selling price and the purchase price of your assets, or the change in the market value of your assets if you still hold them.

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  • Returns are always depends on time period of investment.Therefore for to get 1 year we use simple method.R = [CF1 + (Pt - P t-1)/ P t-1] *100Here, CF 1 : Any Cash flow with in given time frame 0 to1 yearPt : Price at time T.Pt-1 : Price at time 0.Similarly, when time is more than 1 year. Use natural log to calculate return in order to save from time variability.For more than 1 year, we use: R= Ln ( Pt / Pt-1 )Regards

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  • Nora Aguirre 2024 NAHREP National President

    It's important to note that real estate returns can also be influenced by factors such as property taxes, maintenance costs, and financing expenses. Additionally, if you sell the property, transaction costs such as closing costs should be considered.

  • Avinash Baskar Help families invest in Mutual Funds without Stress| AMFI Registered Mutual Fund Distributor

    Total Income Return is useful metric for 2 reasons:1. Knowing returns that you have made on your portfolio- Backward looking 2. Evaluating & comparing options for investment- Forward lookingBroadly the complexity of calculating total investment return comes from different sources & timing of return. Let us take a simple example of a stock X that you sell after 2 years. Now return for X would be dividend distributed every year & the difference between buy & sell price.Dividend may be distributed every quarter, which gets reinvested. Whereas the price differential return comes only at the end of 2 years. In this case, it is important to use the different tools of IRR, XIRR & CAGR hand in hand to calculate the total returns

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2 How to calculate total investment return?

To calculate your total investment return, you need to know the beginning value of your portfolio at the start of the period, the ending value of your portfolio at the end of the period, the income you received during the period, and the capital gains or losses you realized during the period. The formula for total investment return is: [(Ending value + Income + Capital gains) - Beginning value] / Beginning value. Multiply this result by 100 to get a percentage. As an example, if you started the year with a portfolio worth $10,000, received $500 in income, and sold some assets for a profit of $1,000, with an ending portfolio value of $11,500, your total investment return would be 0.3 or 30%.

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  • Aditi Mittal, CFE Empowering Clients in Mitigating Reputational Risks | Integrity Due Diligence | Corporate Investigations | Founder @Fullcircle Risk Consulting | Finance Advisor by Passion | Enabling Women to Achieve Financial Freedom

    To calculate the net return, apart from absolute gains you also need to consider advisory charges, platform charges, etc., and taxes that you would be paying upon withdrawal.

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  • Laura Preciado "Assisting small businesses in boosting their profits and promoting business growth."

    Consider the time factor: It's crucial for investors to understand the significance of measuring returns over specific time frames, such as annually or quarterly, to evaluate performance accurately.Include reinvested income and gains: Highlighting the importance of reinvesting dividends or capital gains to compound returns can provide a more comprehensive understanding of total investment return. "The Importance of Time Horizon in Investing" - This article by Investopedia discusses the significance of considering the time factor when evaluating investment performance. It explains how different time frames can affect investment returns and provides insights into long-term investing strategies.

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3 Why is total investment return important?

Total investment return is important because it shows you how much your portfolio has grown or shrunk over a given period, and how much income it has generated. It helps you compare your performance with your goals, benchmarks, or other investments. It also helps you evaluate your risk and return trade-off, which is the balance between the potential rewards and the potential losses of your investment choices.

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  • Avinash Baskar Help families invest in Mutual Funds without Stress| AMFI Registered Mutual Fund Distributor

    Total investment return is important for 2 reasons: 1. It is the real return that you have made on your portfolio2. While evaluating investment options, it becomes important to compare the choices. And what is the basis of comparison- It should obviously be total investment return. Whenever evaluation an investment, it is important to understand the source & timing of returns. For e.g. 1. In a house- Rental yield+ Price appreciation. 2. In a stock- Dividend+ Price appreciation3. In a bond- Only the coupons you get periodically

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4 What are the limitations of total investment return?

Total investment return is a useful indicator of your investment performance, but it does not take into account several factors. Inflation erodes the purchasing power of your money over time, and taxes, fees, commissions, and expenses reduce your net income and capital gains. Furthermore, the timing or frequency of your income and capital gains affects the compounding effect of your returns. To adjust for these factors, you can use real investment return to subtract the inflation rate, after-tax investment return to deduct taxes paid on income and capital gains, net investment return to deduct costs incurred, and annualized investment return to convert returns to a yearly rate.

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  • In looking at Total Returns you must also be able to dimension the period the return is being captured.To a client you must also be able to help them under stand the place of portfolio allocation, Risk and Investment Objective.

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  • Vipul Tiwari Work, Learn, Grow | Fintech | Leadership | FRM (GARP) | Project Management | Business Analyst | Consulting

    Few of the limitations are as below: Market Risk: Total investment return is subject to market fluctuations. If the market experiences a downturn, the value of investments may decrease, impacting the overall return.Liquidity Risk: Certain investments may lack liquidity, making it difficult to sell them at desired prices. This can affect the ability to realize gains or losses.Interest Rate Risk: Changes in interest rates can affect the returns on fixed-income investments. For example, when interest rates rise, bond prices tend to fall, impacting the overall return.Credit Risk: Investments in bonds or other debt instruments carry the risk of default by the issuer, impacting the return.Also Tax implications are not considered.

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5 How to improve your total investment return?

There is no guaranteed way to maximize your investment return, but there are some general principles that can help you optimize your investment performance. Diversifying your portfolio across different asset classes, sectors, regions, and strategies can reduce your exposure to specific risks and increase your opportunities for growth and income. Rebalancing periodically can maintain your desired asset allocation and risk level, while also taking advantage of market fluctuations and price movements. Investing for the long term and avoiding chasing short-term trends or reacting to market noise is key. Additionally, reviewing your portfolio regularly and making adjustments as needed to reflect changing circ*mstances, preferences, and expectations is important. By following these general principles, you can optimize your investment performance.

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  • The best way to increase your returns is :Let us take a reference investment amount of 20,000/- per month.Calculate the average P/E ratio of Nifty.Every time Nifty goes above the average P/E by 1,i.e. let us say average P/E is 19 and it goes up to 20.Decrease your investments by 1,000 rs.AndEvery time Nifty goes below the average P/E by 1I.e. let us say average P/E is 18Increase your investments by 1000.This shall optimize your investment strategy and lead up to significantly better returns.

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  • Michelle Paxton Sr. Loan Advisor assisting with your Commercial and Residential lending needs, and Investment growth!

    This is a fairly vague question because are we talking about a stock portfolio of retirement portfolio commercial real estate residential real estate?With residential Lending you've got your purchase price and closing costs and when you go to sell the property you've got your sales price minus all of the costs roughly 7% to include commissions title and escrow Etc the difference is your return or net. If it's a rental well your rent's better exceed your p.i.t.i.aI'm not a tax professional so tax questions should always be advised by a CPA

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6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

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  • Dereck Britt Background Actor

    Use the following formula:Total Investment Return = (Ending Value - Beginning Value + Income) / Beginning ValueWhere:Ending Value: The current value of the investment.Beginning Value: The initial value of the investment.Income: The total income generated by the investment, including dividends and interest.Once you have calculated the total investment return, you can express it as a percentage by multiplying it by 100 .

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  • Shah Mir - Chartered Financial Planner Independent Financial Adviser | 1000+ Followers | Speaker | Guest Lecturer | TV Presenter

    From an Investor perspective its important to measure the real returns less inflation a good Investor would track this on quarterly or annual basis. Personally I want to see how my investment is doing when compared to my fellow investors in my sector. Constant returns is key as anyone can make returns on a up word makers but the winners who who can manage risk on downward markets.

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