Finance

Investment Return on Investment Calculator (20 Years)

Calculate return on investment as a percentage. This investment version uses a 20-year planning term as its starting point.

The return result is the total percentage gain or loss on the amount invested over the whole term, so a positive percentage means the final value is higher than the amount invested, and it is not a yearly rate.

Formula

Return equals final value minus invested amount, divided by invested amount, times 100.

How it works

A positive return means the final value is higher than the amount invested.

Worked example

Amount invested $10,000, final value $15,000, term 20 years. Using the page formula, return equals $15,000 minus $10,000, divided by $10,000, times 100, which is $5,000 divided by $10,000, times 100, which is 50.00%. That is the calculator's own result for these defaults, and it is the same on every page in this group because the term is not an input.

That 50.00% is a total over the whole term, not a yearly rate. As illustrations only, not outputs of this page, the simple average is 50 divided by 20, which is 2.50% a year, and the steady rate that would compound $10,000 to $15,000 over 20 years is 2.05% a year. Over two decades, a 50% total gain is a slow yearly pace.

Who this term suits for an investor: an investor looking back over a generation of investing, for example a pension pot, a long-held share portfolio, or a property bought decades ago, who wants an honest yearly rate rather than a flattering total.

FAQs

What is a good ROI?
There is no single good figure. Compare returns over the same period and with the same risk before deciding.

Is this investment calculator exact?
No, it is an estimate for planning only, based on the numbers you enter.

Are these figures financial advice?
No, they are estimates for planning only, not financial advice. Check with a qualified adviser for decisions involving large sums.

Is 50% over 20 years a good investment return?
On its own, it is modest, about 2.05% a year compounded, which may barely beat inflation. Judge it against safer returns over the same 20 years and against the risk carried along the way.

What if the investment paid income during the 20 years?
Then the true return is higher than 50%, because this page only compares the amount invested with the final value. Add any income kept or reinvested into the final value to see the fuller picture.

Should a 20-year return guide a new investment?
Only loosely. Twenty years cover several market cycles, and the conditions that produced this return may not repeat. Use it as one data point, not as a forecast.

Estimates only, not financial advice. Figures are approximate and do not include all fees, taxes, or changing rates unless stated.