Annual return: (Final value ÷ Initial value) to the power of (1 ÷ number of years) − 1. The total return is Final value ÷ Initial value − 1.

Example: CHF 10,000 becomes CHF 15,000 in 5 years. Total return: 50 %; profit: CHF 5,000. Per year: 1.5 to the power of 0.2 − 1 = 8.4 %. After 1 % of inflation, this leaves (1.0845 ÷ 1.01) − 1 = 7.4 % per year.

Deposits and withdrawals (modified Dietz method, payments made on average halfway through the term): Total return = (final value − initial value − net payments) ÷ (initial value + 0.5 × net payments), then annualised. Example: CHF 10,000 starting value, CHF 5,000 paid in, CHF 18,000 at maturity after 5 years: 3,000 ÷ 12,500 = 24 %, i.e. 4.4 % per year.

By way of comparison: since 1900, Swiss equities have yielded an average of 6.8 % per year, Swiss bonds 3.9 %, and a 60/40 portfolio 6 % (Pictet, February 2026, nominal). The worst year for equities was 2008, with a loss of 34 %. Model calculation excludes tax and fees; historical returns do not constitute a forecast.

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Swiss Return Calculator: Calculate returns, annualise them and interpret them correctly

CHF 10,000 grew to CHF 15,000 over five years. That is a return of 50 %. However, the annual return is not 10 %, but 8.4 %. Anyone who confuses the two overestimates every investment they have ever made.

Using the return calculator below, you can calculate your return: total, per year and after inflation. You’ll then be able to see what constitutes a good return, whether 10 % per year is realistic, and where the percentage figure might mislead you.

Calculating returns – The key points at a glance

Total return	(Final value − Initial value) ÷ Initial value
Per year	Annualised (CAGR): (Final value ÷ Initial value)^(1 ÷ Years) − 1
Real	Nominal return minus inflation, to be precise: (1 + nominal) ÷ (1 + inflation) − 1
Swiss shares	6.8 % per year since 1900, 4.6 % in real terms (Pictet, February 2026)
Swiss bonds	3.9 % per year since 1900, in real terms 1.8 %
Attention	No Swiss portfolio has achieved 10 % per annum over 20 years; globally, this has only been achieved in exceptional decades

💡 Schwiizerfranke assessment: Expect a return of 5 to 7 % per year for equity ETFs, after fees and before inflation. Anything above that is a good year – not the plan.

Calculating return: the formula

The total return is the straightforward bit: what you end up with, minus what you put in, divided by your initial investment.

Return = (Final value − Initial value) ÷ Initial value × 100

Example: CHF 10,000 invested, now worth CHF 15,000. (15,000 − 10,000) ÷ 10,000 = 0.5, or 50 %. This figure tells you how much you’ve earned. It doesn’t tell you how good the investment was. The time period is too short for that.

Annualised return: why 50 % over 5 years is not the same as 10 % per year

50 % divided by five over five years gives 10 %. That is how most people calculate it, and that is why it is wrong. Because in the second year, it is no longer just the initial investment that is working, but also the profit from the first year. The annualised rate of return, known in English as CAGR, takes this into account:

Annual return = (Final value ÷ Initial value)^(1 ÷ Number of years) − 1

In the example: (15,000 ÷ 10,000)^(1 ÷ 5) − 1 = 8.4 %. Not 10. The difference grows over time: 100 % in ten years is not 10 % per year, but 7.2 %. 300 % in twenty years is 7.2 %, not 15.

The annualised return is the only figure you can use to compare two investments that have been running for different lengths of time. And it is the figure that funds, ETFs and pension funds report. If someone mentions a «50 % return», ask them to specify the time period.

Returns, including deposits and withdrawals

This simple formula assumes that you make a one-off deposit and never touch it again. With a savings plan or a custody account involving withdrawals, this is no longer true: if you deposit CHF 10,000, top up with a further CHF 5,000 later and end up with CHF 18,000, you have not achieved a return of 80 %. The second amount has been invested for a shorter period.

There are two methods for this. The money-weighted return (internal rate of return) takes into account the timing of each payment and shows what your money has actually earned. The time-weighted return ignores your payments and shows how well the investment itself performed. Funds report the latter; you experience the former. The calculator above uses an approximation which, in most cases, is close to the money-weighted return: deposits and withdrawals are assumed to be spread evenly over the investment period.

Nominal or real: return after inflation

Since 1900, Swiss equities have yielded 6.8 % per annum. Inflation has eroded around 2 percentage points of this, leaving a real return of 4.6 %. For bonds, the return of 3.9 % is reduced to 1.8 %. With a savings account offering 0.5 % and inflation at 1 %, the real return is negative: you lose purchasing power every year, whilst the balance in your account increases.

The exact formula: (1 + nominal return) ÷ (1 + inflation) − 1. For mental arithmetic, simply subtract inflation from the nominal return. The calculator above shows both; you can adjust the inflation rate. For Switzerland, 1 % is a reasonable default value; in the long term, it was 2.

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What constitutes a good return? Is 10 % per year realistic?

A return that exceeds the long-term performance of the asset class, net of costs, is considered good. Here are the figures:

Attachment	Nominal per annum	Actual per year	Period, Source
Swiss savings account	0.25 to 1 %	negative to zero	2026, Swiss franc interest rate table
Swiss bonds	3.9 %	1.8 %	1900 to 2025, Pictet
60/40 portfolio, Switzerland	6.0 %		1900 to 2025, Pictet
Swiss shares	6.8 %	4.6 %	1900 to 2025, Pictet
Global equities (MSCI World)	around 7 % in USD		since 1970, MSCI; down in Swiss francs

Is 10 % per year realistic? In individual years, yes – in 2025, Swiss shares yielded 17.8 %. No Swiss portfolio has managed this over a twenty-year period. There have been exceptions globally – the US from 1980 to 2000, for example – but nobody plans on the basis of an exception. If you plan on the basis of 10 %, you’re planning for the best-case scenario. If you plan on the basis of 5 to 7 %, you’re planning in line with historical trends.

Is 20 % per year a realistic figure? No, not over more than a few years. Individual shares, cryptocurrencies or a lucky entry in 2009 might deliver that in the short term. As an expectation for a plan, it’s a gamble, not a return.

And on the other hand: the worst year for shares since 1900 was 2008, with a fall of 34 %. The average volatility is around 20 % per year. However, anyone who has held Swiss shares for at least 14 years since 1909 has never lost money. The 6.8 % figure is only achieved over the course of that time.

Monthly return: the conversion and the warning

«5 % per month» sounds like 60 % a year. With interest, that works out as 79.6 %, because each month builds on the previous one. The formula is: (1 + monthly return)^12 − 1. The calculator above has a specific mode for this.

And now for the context: even just 1 % per month amounts to 12.7 % per year – more than Swiss shares have achieved on average over 125 years. Anyone who promises you 5, 10 or 20 % per month is promising 80 to 790 % per year. No reputable investment can achieve that, in any country or in any asset class. Such offers are either sales pitches or scams. Usually both.

Fees: how much 1 % costs per year

Fees are deducted from the return before it is paid out, every year, with compound interest. With a gross return of 6 % and fees of 1 %, 5 % remains. After 20 years, you’ll have around 17 % less in final capital than you would without fees; after 30 years, around 25 %. That’s why costs are the only component of your return that you can definitely influence. You can see how much an ETF costs compared to an actively managed fund in the ETF Guide.

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Conclusion

Return is a figure with three caveats: over what period, after deducting what costs, and before or after inflation. Without these three, any percentage figure is worthless, and most of the percentage figures you come across don’t include them.

Work out the annualised and real returns on your own investments. The result is usually lower than you’d expect and more realistic than anything a prospectus promises. And if you want to see what regular saving at 6 % over 20 years can achieve, read on at savings calculator.

Sources:
Pictet Wealth Management, The long-term performance of Swiss equities and bonds from 1900 to 2025 (February 2026)
MSCI World price performance and annualised return since 1970 (as at May 2026)
Swiss franc, savings account interest rate comparison (2026)

FAQ

How do I calculate the return on a share?

Capital gain plus dividends, divided by the purchase price. If purchased at CHF 100, sold at CHF 120 and a dividend of CHF 3: (120 − 100 + 3) ÷ 100 = 23 %. To work out the annual return, you don’t divide by the number of years; instead, you use the annualised formula.