Finance

Personal Return on Investment Calculator (30 Years)

Calculate return on investment as a percentage. This personal version uses a 30-year planning term as its starting point.

The Return figure is the total gain or loss over the full 30 years, shown as a percentage of the amount invested. A positive Return means the final value is higher than the amount invested, a negative Return means it is lower, and a Return of 0.00% means the money came back unchanged. Because it covers the whole 30 years, it is not a yearly rate, so compare it only with returns measured over the same length of time and with similar risk.

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 30 years. First, the gain is $15,000 minus $10,000, which is $5,000. Using the page formula, return is $5,000 divided by $10,000, times 100, which is 50.00%. That is the total return over the whole 30 years, not a yearly rate. As an illustration only, not the output of this page, the annualised rate behind the same result is about 1.36% a year, because $15,000 divided by $10,000 is 1.50, and the 30th root of 1.50 is about 1.0136. Over 30 years, $5,000 of gain on $10,000 is a thin result in yearly terms, and if prices rose faster than about 1.36% a year on average over the same 30 years, the $15,000 would buy less than the original $10,000 did at the start.

Who this term suits for a person: A 30-year term suits a person checking a retirement plan started young, for example $10,000 put away in their thirties and reviewed in their sixties. The headline 50.00% should not decide anything on its own: the decision needs the yearly figure of about 1.36%, the fees and tax actually paid, and whether the money could have worked harder elsewhere at similar risk.

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 personal 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 $5,000 gain on $10,000 over 30 years a good result?
In cash terms it is a gain, but in yearly terms it is only about 1.36% a year, which is a thin reward for 30 years of risk. Whether it is acceptable depends on how safe the holding was and on how much prices rose over the same 30 years. For most growth goals, about 1.36% a year over 30 years would fall short of the plan.

Why does 1.36% a year matter more than the 50.00% headline at 30 years?
Because the headline ignores time. Two holdings can both show 50.00%, yet one took 5 years and the other took 30 years, and only the yearly figure separates them. At 30 years, the yearly figure also exposes the real risk: if prices rose faster than about 1.36% a year, the money lost buying power despite the positive headline.

What would make a 30-year ROI misleading?
Four things: rising prices, which the page does not adjust for; fees and tax, which it does not deduct; added money or withdrawals, which break the single lump-sum assumption; and risk, which a start-to-end figure never shows. A 30-year ROI that ignores all four can look like progress while the plan actually fell behind.

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