Portfolio total return.

Total return = capital appreciation + dividends/income, annualised. 10k starting + 2k dividends + ending value 15k - 1k contributions = 6k total return. On 10k starting: 60% total return. Over 5 years: 9.86% annualised. Includes both price gain and income for true performance measurement.

10k start, 15k end, 2k dividends, 1k contributions, 5 years. Total return: 15k - 10k - 1k + 2k = 6k. Total return %: 60%. Annualised: 9.86%. Compare to S&P 500 long-term return ~10%. Strong portfolio performance if benchmarks are similar.

Many investors miss dividends in performance calculations - massive understatement. S&P 500 1990-2020: 7.2% price return vs 9.9% total return. Dividends added 2.7%/year compounded. Reinvested dividends turn into 75% of long-term wealth from equity investing. Always include dividends in performance calculations.

A worked example

Try the defaults: starting portfolio value of 10,000, ending portfolio value of 15,000, dividends received of 2,000, contributions added of 1,000. The tool returns 9.86%. You can adjust any input and the result updates as you type — no submit button, no reload. That's the real power here: seeing how sensitive the output is to one or two assumptions.

What moves the number most

The result responds to Starting Portfolio Value, Ending Portfolio Value, Dividends Received, Contributions Added, and Years. Not every input has equal weight. Flip one at a time toward extreme values to feel which ones move the needle most for your situation.

The formula behind this

Total return = end - start - contributions + dividends. Total return % = TR ÷ start × 100. Annualized = (1 + TR%)^(1/years) - 1. Everything the calculator does is shown in the formula box below, so you can check the math against your own spreadsheet if you want.

Using this well

Treat the output as one point on a wider map. Run it three times — a pessimistic case, a central case, and a stretch case — and plan against the pessimistic one. That habit alone separates people who stick with an investment plan from those who bail at the first wobble.

What this doesn't capture

Steady-rate math ignores real-world volatility. Actual returns are lumpy; sequence-of-returns risk matters most in drawdown; fees and taxes drag on compound growth; and behaviour changes in drawdowns can reduce outcomes below the projection. Treat the number as one scenario, not a forecast.