Your actual return vs. the fund's return

By Investor's Report Card · September 25, 2026

You can own a fund that reports a gain and still lose money on it. That's not a trick. It's the difference between the fund's return and your return, and it comes down to when your money went in and out.

Two ways to measure a return

The fund's return (time-weighted) measures how each dollar did if it was invested the whole time. It ignores when investors added or took out money. Funds and indexes report this number, because it judges the investments, not the investors.
Your return (money-weighted) counts when and how much you added or took out. It answers the question you care about: what did my money actually earn?

An example

You invest $100,000 in a fund. In the first year the fund gains 20%, so you have $120,000. Encouraged, you add another $100,000, bringing the account to $220,000. In the second year the fund falls 10%, and you end with $198,000.

	Per year
The fund's return (time-weighted)	+3.9%
Your return (money-weighted)	−0.7%

The fund did fine. But you put in $200,000 and ended with $198,000, because more of your money was invested during the bad year than the good one.

Why it matters

Timing costs real money. Adding money after a strong run and pulling out after a drop is common, and it can make your return far worse than the fund's.
Deposits aren't gains. An account's "change in value" includes the money you put in. Your return should not.
Know which number you're shown. If a report shows only the funds' returns, it can't tell you how your own money did.

How Investor's Report Card measures it

Investor's Report Card works out your return from your monthly balances and the date and amount of every deposit and withdrawal, so the number it shows is what your money actually earned. That's the number to put next to the market.

How is your account really doing?

Investor's Report Card turns the numbers on your monthly statements into a report card: your account's real return, after deposits and withdrawals, next to the market indexes you choose, graded A+ to F.

Start your free trial See a sample report

This article is general information, not investment advice. Investor's Report Card is not a registered investment advisor and doesn't recommend any investment. Past performance doesn't guarantee future results.