Investment Return Calculator
Analyze your portfolio's performance with our free US investment return calculator. Calculate Return on Investment (ROI), Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR), net investment gains, and expense ratio fee drag.
Net Value vs. Fees Breakdown
DistributionInvestment Trajectory
Portfolio Value Over TimeAnnual Performance Schedule
| Year | Starting Balance | Contributions | Ending Balance | Cumulative Fees |
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Measuring True Investment Performance (ROI vs. CAGR)
When evaluating stock market investments, mutual funds, or real estate syndications, measuring raw dollar profit is insufficient without analyzing time horizon and fee overhead.
The Silent Killer of Wealth: Expense Ratio Drag
An investment's expense ratio represents the percentage of assets dedicated to fund management, trading costs, and marketing. While low-cost broad index ETFs (such as Vanguard's VOO or VTI) feature expense ratios as low as 0.03%, many actively managed mutual funds and financial advisory wraps charge between 0.75% and 1.50% annually.
Over a 20 to 30-year horizon, an extra 1.0% in annual management fees does not merely take 1% of your profits; it strips away more than a quarter of your total potential terminal wealth by interrupting compound growth before it occurs.