Tracking your returns
3 steps to track the return on your investments
1. Find out your rate of return
Ask your advisor to calculate your rate of return for you. Keep in mind that any costs or fees you pay on your investments reduce your rate of return. So do any taxes you pay on the money you earn on investments outside a registered plan. Your advisor should take costs, fees and taxes into account when they calculate your return for you.
2. Assess your progress toward your goals
Take a look at:
- how much you have invested,
- the growth you wanted, and
- what your investment is worth today.
This should give you an idea of whether or not you’re on track. If you’re not, you may choose to make changes to your investments.
3. Measure your results against other investments
You can compare your returns with those of similar investments in a benchmarkBenchmark A yardstick that you can use to measure the performance of an investment. Example: a stock market index may be a benchmark you can use to compare how well your own stocks are doing.+ read full definition indexIndex A benchmark or yardstick that lets you measure the performance of a stock market, part of a stock market or a single investment. Examples: S&P/TSX, S&P/TSX Canadian Bond Index.+ read full definition. For example, if you’ve invested in Canadian equitiesEquities Another word for investments in the stock market.+ read full definition, you can compare your returns with the S&P/TSX Composite Index. If you’ve invested in Canadian fixed incomeFixed income An investment that pays regular income to you. Examples: Guaranteed Investment Certificates, Canada Savings Bonds and types of other bonds.+ read full definition investments, you can compare your returns with the DEX Universe Bond Index. If you have a mix of equities and fixed income investments, you might want to use a blended index as your benchmark. You may want to talk to an advisor if you’re not sure what index to use.
Take action
- Get your rate of return
- Measure your progress against your goals
- Check your results against a benchmark