Glossary · Returns
Total return
The return of an investment including income (dividends or interest), not just the change in price.
A price-only series shows what a unit was worth; a total-return series shows what a holder actually earned, treating income as reinvested. For a fund yielding meaningfully, the gap between the two compounds into a large difference over several years.
Accumulating share classes roll income back into the fund automatically, so their price series is already close to a total return. Distributing classes pay it out, so their price series understates what a reinvesting holder received.
Comparing an accumulating class against the price series of a distributing one is one of the commonest ways fund comparisons go wrong.
How we calculate it
The fund’s reported NAV total return with income reinvested, checked before it is shown. Where none is reported we show the price change and label it price only.
The full method, with a worked exampleRelated terms
- NAVThe per-unit value of a fund’s assets after its liabilities, normally struck once per day.
- Real returnA return after inflation has been removed — what the money can actually buy.
- Accumulation vs income unitsAccumulation units reinvest the fund’s income automatically; income units pay it out as cash.
More terms on returns
Definitions describe how a term is used on Fundology. This is information, not advice.