The method
How it is worked out
- P
- Starting investment
- C
- Monthly contribution
- r
- Monthly return, annual ÷ 12
- N
- Months, years × 12
Project investment growth with a starting balance, monthly contributions and an assumed annual return. The result updates as you type so you can compare scenarios quickly.
The method
Keep in mind
Use the calculator to compare scenarios rather than as a guaranteed forecast.
See how an initial investment might develop alongside monthly top-ups. The tool is helpful for retirement or medium-term planning when you need to distinguish the amount contributed from the growth implied by an assumed return.
The starting balance and each monthly contribution are compounded using the annual return divided into monthly periods. The year-by-year chart shows the value produced by that constant-return assumption. Real returns fluctuate, and a forecast cannot promise a future portfolio value; charges, tax and inflation are left out of the calculation.
Set a ten-year period and a 4% annual return, then compare the forecast with a longer holding period at the same return. Next change only the monthly top-up. The differences show how sensitive the estimate is to time and saving behaviour, not what a market will deliver.
Put it to work
Load an example
What moves the result most
Worked out from your figures above. Tap a row to try it.
Who uses it, and when
Pension savers checking whether contributions are on track, people comparing a longer time horizon against a higher contribution, and advisers illustrating why starting early matters more than picking the perfect fund.
Mistakes worth avoiding
Questions
Project investment growth with a starting balance, monthly contributions and an assumed annual return.
The starting balance and each monthly contribution are compounded using the annual return divided into monthly periods. The year-by-year chart shows the value produced by that constant-return assumption. Real returns fluctuate, and a forecast cannot promise a future portfolio value; charges, tax and inflation are left out of the calculation.
The core calculation or transformation runs in your browser. Normal website security and analytics may still record page-level events, but the tool does not need to create a public record from your inputs.
Using one steady return and forgetting that a bad early sequence of years changes the outcome. Leaving charges out; a one-percent annual fee removes a large slice of thirty-year growth. Stopping contributions when markets fall, which the model cannot show but real portfolios feel.
No. Use the result as a practical check or planning aid and verify important decisions with the relevant primary source, provider or professional advice.
Executive Insights
Calculator results are estimates based on the figures entered and are not financial, investment, legal or tax advice.