All calculators are downloadable Excel spreadsheets that allow you to save and amend your own personal data.With all the spreadsheets, enter your personal data in the purple coloured cells. Returns aren’t easy to predict so my advice is to be conservative, and always enter returns AFTER fees and inflation.
Investment fund provider comparison spreadsheet
With so many different fee structures used by the different fund providers, it can be difficult to determine which option is the lowest cost for the amount that you will be investing. This sheet helps to provide your assumed investment balance using different levels of investment fees.
investment funds fee calculator
Just a small difference in investment fees can make a large difference in the performance of our investment funds over long periods of time. This calculator will show you just how much of a difference you can save. For more on the importance of investment fees read here, here, and here.
% investment returns calculator
It can be hard to know what your investment returns are over time, especially if you are making regular contributions.
This is the calculator that will show you what annual percentage returns your investments provided. There is one calculator for one off lump sum investments, one for regular investments, and another for irregular lump sum investments. For the regular investments, there is also the option to make up to 3 changes to the amount you regularly contribute over time.
You just need to enter your opening and closing investment balance, the time period you want the returns to be for, and whether or not you are making regular or irregular contributions.
Out of the three calculators, choose the one that best applies to you. One off investment, ongoing regular investor, or ongoing irregular investor.
investment returns calculator
Wondering what difference different percentage returns can make on your investment returns? Then look no further, this is your calculator. To find out about one of the biggest drags on your investment returns, then check out this article.
investment returns vs contributions spreadsheet
Ever wondered how much of your returns were from your contributions and how much were from the investments? This nifty calculator shows the impact of investing long term and how over time, investment returns increase as a percentage against your own contributions. This is known as the power of compound interest. More reading on the impact of our own contributions (what we can control) can be found here and here.
investment losses calculator
Wondering how much your portfolio could lose in a worst case scenario? This calculator will tell you. Useful if you are unsure on how much, or how little, risk you are taking on. Read more on the importance of minimising losses.
Chase higher investment returns or invest more calculator
Chasing higher investment returns can be risky practice and even result in lower returns than you would have achieved not chasing higher returns in the first place.
If you are really desperate for higher returns, often the best place to start is by simply saving more, rather than chasing returns. How much extra you need to save to achieve higher returns is often not as much as you may think either.
This calculator will show you how much more you need to save to achieve the same results as higher returns.
asset allocation and net worth spreadsheet
As some assets do well and others do poorly, our desired asset allocation can drift over time. This can create a situation where we are invested too heavily (or not enough) in our preferred investments.
All you need to do is enter your current assets in the purple cells and your results will be provided in the peach box, as well as 6 pie charts for an easy visual. The pie charts showing your asset allocations in specific asset categories and broad asset categories and both including the house (if you are a homeowner) and excluding the house. The graphs will also show you your split of growth assets (such as shares and property) relative to conservative assets (such as cash and bonds). The last two graphs excluding your current home if you are a homeowner.
I have pre filled some purple cells to give you an example of how it may look, but delete or add any numbers as your situation requires.
For more information on the importance of a correct asset allocation, have a read of our article here.
Then if you need help deciding how much you may need to buy or sell to rebalance to your original preferences, you can check out the rebalancing calculator also on this page.
Since you have entered all your asset holdings I thought it would also be good to add a net worth tracker to this calculator too. You’ve done most of the hard work already. For your net worth you just need to add your liabilities, and your net worth number will be provided.
From there you can use the net worth table in rows 129 to 148 to track your net worth over time. The great thing about this table is you can enter your net worth as often (maximum of monthly) or as little as you like, and the % change in your net worth from one date to another will still be calculated.
If you have any feedback or improvements to suggest feel free to get in touch.
portfolio rebalancing calculator
Asset classes, such as stocks and bonds, can drift away from our preferred ratios over time, due to performing well or poorly. This means we end up taking on too much risk, or not enough risk, which is subotimal. It’s important to ensure you don’t drift too far from your desired asset allocations. An annual portfolio rebalance where you sell from your better performing assets into your not as good performing assets. This calculator will help you work out how much you need to sell and of which asset, in order to restore your original ratios. Further reading on rebalancing here.
The impact of investment fees calculator
This calculator is more comprehensive than the first investment funds fee calculator on this page. Not only can you see your current total fees with the used assumptions, but you can also immediately see the difference between a wide range of fees. For more information on this calculator have a read here. For more on the importance of investment fees read here, here, and here.
Currency conversion calculator
If you live in New Zealand but hold overseas domiciled shares, funds, or investments, then you are likely interested in knowing the how much your investments are worth in New Zealand dollars.
This calculator allows you look up the NZ value for up to 5 different different currencies by just entering the date of currency conversion and the amount of overseas currency. You will then be told the total amount invested in New Zealand dollars.
Note there are only 19 of the main currencies available to choose from. If there are any more you want added then reach out and let me know.
Currency impact calculator
Similar to the previous calculator that converts your overseas investment to New Zealand dollars, but this calculator also provides the percentage returns from your investment.
It can also be difficult to know how much of your overseas returns are attributable to changes in currencies and how much is attributable to the investment itself. This calculator will provide a breakdown of total returns, currency returns, and investment returns.
This should help you decide whether you comfortable to invest in an undhedged investment or if you would rather focus on hedged investments (ones that don’t fluctuate with changes in currencies).
The calculator will also help you evaluate the investment itself. Sometimes investments can look much worse or much better than they actually are because of a good or poor performing currency. This calculator, by separating the currency and investment returns, cuts through all the noise.
cURRENCY IMPACT CALCULATOR WITH REGULAR CONTRIBUTIONS
Same as the currency impact calculator above, however, rather than looking at a one off contribution or lump sum, this calculator allows for ongoing regular contributions if you are investing in this manner.
These calculators using exchange rates rely on external data so there is a chance the data may be inaccurate or not up to date. I have no control over that. If you encounter any errors please get in touch.
Investment returns vs contributions grid
Similar to the one earlier on this page, except it is a grid. No inputs required. You can immediately see how much of your investment or savings balance is from you and how much is from interest returns over time. It’s different to the earlier calculator in that you can immediately and easily compare the difference in interest rates.
This grid only works starting from zero (your future savings). Otherwise there are an almost unlimited amount of percentage variations.
Internal rate of return (irr) calculator
IRR is the rate of return when you receive unequal returns over a period of time. The amounts you receive each year and in what order are important here. In this calculator, your investments have a discount value. Your investments need a discount value because one dollar in the future is worth less than one dollar today, so that loss of value in a dollar needs to be factored into your investment return. If you are comparing two or more investments, IRR will tell you how much of a return you will need to break even accounting for the time value of money. For example, if you make a $50K investment and in year 1 it makes $5,000, year 2 $2,000 and year 3 $0 your IRR if you were to withdraw the $57K is 4.82%. However if you reverse the order of returns, so $0 in year 1, $2K in year 2 and $5K in year 3, your IRR is 4.52%. The latter example has a lower return because the higher returns were made later on, whereas with the first example higher returns were made earlier. Time and compounding matter.
The IRR is a more realistic calculation of what you will receive in returns, than a standard percentage calculation, because it factors in time and order of returns. It is also useful for comparing different investments. For example if you have a 5% IRR, you can compare against the IRR of another investment such as investment property. Or if you are borrowing money, you can make sure that the IRR is higher than the cost of the loan so you aren’t losing money!
You start off by entering your initial outlay in cell D3. Then you enter in your expected dollar return in the rest of row D, entering as many years or periods as you like up to year/period 40. In the final period of your choosing (how long you want the timeframe to be), enter your initial outlay from year 0 (this time make it a positive number) so you ensure you include your initial capital back in your hand. Add any final year return to this number, if any. Your IRR calculation will update in cell I2.
The limitations of this calculator are that it only accounts for regular contributions and withdrawals, such as yearly. So if you expect payouts at more irregular intervals, then you can check out the next calculator on this page. IRR also assumes that any cashflow generated can be invested at the same rate as the IRR. This may not always be practical. IRR does not factor in risk, so be careful when comparing two investments that you consider the risk of each. Finally, IRR does not include inflation. Despite the limitations, it is still a useful tool.
Internal rate of return calculator with variable cashflow periods
Read the description above for more detail on then importance of IRR. This calculator is the same, the only difference is it allows for the scenario where you are receiving payouts at irregular intervals from your investment.
Again, you can enter as few or as many (up to 40) periods as you like in cells C3 and D3 to C42 and D42.
For personalised advice on the best investment portfolio for your needs, then get in touch for a no obligations chat to see how we may be able to add value for you.
For more calculators, click here